Specific Recommendations

[El Whedo]

Yer all set up now Brian. Take yer time and slowly work yer way through through those wonderful samples. Then come back and tell us what ya think, and which ya like best. THEN you will get a Gazillion suggestions from us all.

BTW... English style tobacco's WILL ghost pipes. (If ya open a sample and it smells like a campfire it's an English.) You might consider getting a corn cob pipe to try them out. A Missouri Meerschaum (cob pipe) can be bought at wallgreens, etc, for a few dollars and are actually really good pipes with their unique smoking properties, even if they look a bit low-brow.

[Cool Breeze]

Great minds think alike!

Yep.
When I saw your post I figured it was going to the same place.
Click click boom.

[Brimy]

Yer all set up now Brian. Take yer time and slowly work yer way through through those wonderful samples. Then come back and tell us what ya think, and which ya like best. THEN you will get a Gazillion suggestions from us all.

BTW... English style tobacco's WILL ghost pipes. (If ya open a sample and it smells like a campfire it's an English.) You might consider getting a corn cob pipe to try them out. A Missouri Meerschaum (cob pipe) can be bought at wallgreens, etc, for a few dollars and are actually really good pipes with their unique smoking properties, even if they look a bit low-brow.

You are absolutely right that I'm set to get a good idea with the samples so graciously provided.
And thank you for the tip about the English tobacco's. I have a cob and I think a briar, but I'll go ahead & pick up a couple more cobs.
Plus I've been looking at some pipes to start to build a rotation/collection...

...my goodness!! Pipes can be EXPENSIVE!!

[El Whedo]

Pipes don't have to be expensive. Cobs, as ya know, are very cheap yet smoke beautifully. I have several of the Ropp "Vintage" line of pipes and they were 70-80$ each. I like their horn stems, and the bowls were carved in the 50's, I believe. Huge boxes of them were found in storage and the Ropp factory has been hand carving stems for them slowly and letting smokingpipes.com sell them.

edit: the reason the old bowls are important is that there is very little access today to really good briar.

[Brimy]

@El Whedo
Thx for the info on the Ropp's

And you're absolutely right, I read somewhere that good briar is hard to come by now of days.

[Brimy]

Mark (@el whedo),
You are so right! I guess I just didn't look hard enough. Savinelli, Brigham, Peterson all have pipes < $100!
Saw a few Vintage that will be joining me over the next few months.

[Haebar]

Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic and Lane Ready Rubbed

[Cool Breeze]

I have 6 or 7 Savinellis and they are all fantastic. Most are lower end entry level stuff. One is a Punto Oro. They are all great smokers.

I have 3 Petersons. In my limited experience, they have been hit or miss. The only one I'm truly attached to is a pre-Republic model. Go figure.

I have a 1 Nording that is a really good smoker.

Lots of great pipes in the $100 and under range.

[Brimy]

Lots of great pipes in the $100 and under range.

Yeah, after doing some more looking, I see that there are a good deal of reasonably priced pipes. I can only hope that I pick some good smokers.

[Haebar]

Brian, the Morgan Bones pipes are a good value at only $39 each: https://www.morganpipes.com/store/p61/Bones_Pipes.html