I'm a beginner as well. Been at it for a few weeks and just got a full kit from SRD. I was also going to recommend reading that article from straight razor magazine as it helped me make my decision. Granted, my preference in draw was not based on much experience. My thinking was that more draw might make it easier to tell when both spine and edge were contacting the strop correctly. I didn't, however, want the extreme draw they claim the latigos develop, so I decided on the premium II. Like MBR said, you probably can't go wrong with any of them. I got what looked good to me and what I thought would feel good to me. I've gotten to use it a couple times and I love it so far.