It really boils down to what you can afford. My first Coticule was 8x3, Anything you can do on a narrow hone, you can do on a full size hone. I never understood why guys would cut perfectly good hones in half...To each his own....

You definitely have more flexibility on a larger hone, Circles, etc...I wouldn't go smaller than a 6x2, and would stay away from irregular shaped bouts, at least for now. I like the 8x3's, and I also like "hand held honing" which I do on a 6x2 hone.