I like it to be wider; I shaved it thinner because it was easier to put up and looked better when it was fanned. Now, however, I wish I had kept it wide since I now like to tease it in a death hawk. Currently it's about 2 - 2.5 inches wide but I think I am going to try and grow it an inch wider over the winter (I want to rock it in all its glory for summer and then I can start saving up hair in winter 'cause I have to wear it down allot then anyways)
but then it started getting too long and gappy so i added about .5 of an inch on each side. the striped are starting to grow. i might keep them shorter then the main hawk though, i like the way it looks haha.
Wider is generally relative to the height of the hawk, the shorter the hawk the less width you need.
However short hawks often look better thin at the base anyway, while long hawks often look wierd thin.