When I first started out doing this whole pipe thing there were three main overwhelming concerns:
1) There's too much effing tobacco
2) There's too many effing pipes
3) There's too many effing dudes telling you how to navigate 1) and 2).
With the Internet and misplaced grandpas out there, all willing to take you under their wing and simply tell you how to do everything, you can either just jump in both-feet, or walk way and try soap carving.
A brief breakdown of my conclusions thus far:
* Money, when considering a pipe, has little to do with performance, no matter if they're estates to a high-dollar artisan pipe. Always read up on makers and companies that produce pipes. Buy what you can afford, and what appeals to you, what looks comfortable (weight, shape, design), all from a decent guy not trying to rip you off. You're going to screw up and get a pipe that sucks, or one you later down the road prefer not smoke. You sell 'em, or trade 'em, until you get a good little handful that works. In the interim, the humble Missouri Meerschaum cob is a perfect vessel for experimentation and expert enjoyment.
* Tobacco, when considering the subjective nature of taste, has little to do with enjoyment. You may like something the other 100 bandwagon jackarses think is crap. You ignore said jackarses. You smoke what you like, and like what you smoke, until you don't anymore, and then you find something else. How do you keep track of it all? There's two ways:
--- Have at all sorts of combinations willy-nilly. There's nothing wrong with going all pipe/tobacco-orgy-Caligula on stuff. You'll either enjoy yourself or you won't, and can move on from there.
-or-
--- Keep notes. Make them as detailed and organized as suits you. Every bowl or a summary of every tin. Learn the basic genres of tobacco.
http://pipedia.org/wiki/Pipe_Tobaccos Note how the pipe smokes with a particular tobacco and how it feels (this will help you narrow down your pipe preferences, too). Be sure to note if the smoke is wet, dry, hot, cool, gurgling, pleasant, horrible, etc. Once a pipe performs to your liking, try keeping a basic dedication to them (i.e., Pipe A for Latakia, Pipe B for Virginia, Pipe C for Perique, Pipe D for Aromatics). Note how a tobacco tastes or doesn't. Ask yourself why you like the tobacco (or why you don't), write it down. Then, based on your notes, fill in gaps and holes by asking fairly easy "yes" or "no" questions of supposed "experts" (or consult various tobacco review sites). After a while, a recognizable pattern will develop, and you'll not need the notes anymore, your preferences will have a direction. Perhaps not a definitive conclusion, but certainly a direction.
The bottom line for both your pipes and tobacco is to try stuff. Trust your tongue, and be open-minded. Take every piece of advice with a grain of salt, and separate fact from opinion. This is a hobby/habit/lifestyle with the goal of pure pleasure, and there's no definite lines except your enjoyment. If you don't like it, stop and change it up. If you do like it, keep doing it. Don't go broke or crazy in the meantime. Don't waste tobacco; do give yourself and each pipe/tobacco a chance, but don't torture your senses or waste your time.
S'all I got.
8)
