A cutter bit includes a wear resistant element replaceably mounted to a front surface immediately below the cutting surface of the cutter bit. The body of the cutter bit is generally formed of a hardened steel, the cutting surface can be a diamond composition fixed in a step in the upper end of the cutter bit including side edges that taper laterally outwardly toward a lower edge of the cutting surface situated adjacent to the wear resistant element and the wear resistant element is preferably formed of a carbide composition or a sintered diamond composition. The wear resistant element can have an upper edge that closely conforms to the shape of an adjacent lower edge of the cutting surface, and can be coupled to a front end of a stem passing through an opening in the cutter bit immediately below the cutting surface, the opening being perpendicular to at least a portion of the back surface of the cutter bit.