I'm lucky enough to have one of Howard's personal bows. As stated, no wood up the riser, also nothing that would add weight to the tip... no overlays or inserts. Riser is 15". Except for the riser length, that's the way I build mine. I use a longer riser because of my short draw, gives me a little shorter working limb on the bow.
I'd go with the recommendations to get your first Hill bow from Craig. They're what most folks have and are referring to when they talk about a Hill style bow, so from there you have a standard to compare to if you get others, and all of those recommended are real good.