You are all doing fantastic work. I look forward to your updates with anticipation and admiration.
I was taught to relieve all but the last .0005 - .001 below the cutting edge. Also the split needs to be exactly half of the diameter. The closer you can measure this the better. This is fairly easy to achieve on a single lip grinder (Deckel) but I imagine someone with your skills could relieve one by hand successfully the first time. Patience, good light and a magnifier/microscope help a lot.
You can buy pre-split blanks in the common sizes up to 1/2 inch in High Speed Steel and Carbide. They are great if you need to match an odd radius or angle and they don't cost much.