Bolson;
I agree with what has been said so far. Here is a tweak. I like to dedicate a pipe to a type & strength of tobacco. So one for light & golden Virginias (like Light Flake), one for red VA and VaPers (like 5100 & Hall O' The Wynd) , one for mild latakia blends (like Kensington) and one for heavy latakia blends (like Penzance).
I do have a couple of pipes dedicated to just one blend such as Renaissance. By doing so, you will get the very most taste possible for that one blend. But I reserve that for only a very special tobacco. Otherwise, it seems excessive.
I also break in a pipe with VAs. If the pipe smokes VA well, then I stay with VAs. If not, I smoke latakia blends in it. It's harder to go back the other way.
OddBall;
Do some research on the salt & alcohol treatment for freshening up a pipe. You'll have to go to another forum for now. It has worked well for me. I bought an estate pipe that had been smoked with aromatics. I did 2 treatments on it and still had some ghosts for awhile, but I eventually covered it up by smoking it.