To Begin Smoking Pipe Tobacco

[TheNovaMan]

You might consider buying a corn cob pipe or two so you can get into some different tobaccos sooner. People who know will tell you cobs smoke wonderfully. Just make sure it's a real Missouri Meerschaum, not a worthless Chinese knock-off.

[sirpuddingfoot]

I'd also recommend going for an "estate" pipe unless you don't have any issues building a cake over 50 bowls, or you can't stand the thought of putting your mouth on a used stem. You can get some great pipes for a small fraction of the cost. Many shops will ream out estate pipes thoroughly, but they'll still build up a nice cake much faster so you can get a nice cool smoking 20-30 minute bowl.

Beyond that, like bourbon, pipe tobacco and pipe styles are almost entirely personal preference.

As far as english tobaccos go, I think McClelland Dark English (this was my Grandpa's preferred smoke) is an excellent introduction to Latakia blends.