GG,

Well, I didn't get any numbers for bevels on small teeth xcut
saws. I was hoping somebody with an LN carcass saw would give
me an idea. Maybe this would have been considered industrial
spying. ;)
Anyways, I went ahead and tried a 80 deg. angle on a Spear &
Jackson backsaw (12" x 0.022 x 14TPI) and 75 deg. on a bowsaw
(no-name, 16" x 1" x 0.022 x 14TPI). For both blades I didn't use
any horizontal angle on the file. I figured it would result in a
stronger tooth that way. The resulting saw kerf for the S&P is 0.0275,
the bowsaw has 0.0285. Probably one less pass when side-filing.
Examined with a magnifying glass the tooth has a bevel and a pointed
tip similar, in proportion, to a bigger tooth. Naturally, the 75 deg
produced a longer bevel and longer pointed tip. In hardwoods and
softwoods both performed the same with regards to speed and smoothness.

I think the tip of a tooth does most of the cutting in a xcut. The
80 bevel produced a pointed tip with sufficient depth (I think...)
that cuts well and is probably more durable than the 75. With both
saws there wasn't any tear at all in the wood and I didn't score before
sawing. So, 80 deg. bevel for me it is. The cut was very smooth with only
minute saw marks. Heck, it looks great!!
But it's hard for me to say because I don't have any comparison basis.

Anybody want to trade cut samples?
Louis Michaud