Several questions

Hello wasatch, and welcome to the forums. :clap:

Since you're coming from the cigar world, some familiar territory will include pipe blends with touches of cigar leaf in them:

• G. L. Pease Key Largo and Robusto
  
  Cornell & Diehl Purple Cow
  
  Hearth & Home Stogie and Virginia Spice
  
  Robert Lewis 123 Mixture
  
  James J. Fox Banker's
  
  McClelland Dominican Glory Maduro

As a group the blends from G L Pease, Peterson, and Sam Gawith tend to be full flavored (and usually full bodied too); but there are many, many blends that satisfy that criteria. These three brands are just a starting point. You'll have to read the tin descriptions and reviews to get a feel for what is available.
I might also add that some of the most captivating and awe inspiring flavors in the pipe world come from blends that are somewhat less than "full", in particular the Oriental blends and medium-to-light Virginia Flakes.
I don't dedicate a pipe to a specific blend, but it is not uncommon to do so. Since I smoke mainly Virginia and VaPer (Virginia-Perique) blends, the crossover of flavors isn't an issue for me. The blend genres that are notorius for ghosting a pipe are Lakelands (soapy/perfumey), aromatics (non-tobacco flavors), and Latakias (dark, pungent, fired cured condiment leaf). Or course, there are folks who enjoy the experience/adventure of crossover tastes.
I will rest a briar 24 hrs. for every bowl smoked in that pipe during a given day -- which can be 5 or more bowls.

Meerschaums and cobs can do with far less rest; and gourd calabashes can go practically without rest.

Welcome aboard! Cortez has summed it up in a nutshell, and you can't go wrong with that advice. Myself, I dedicate pipes to different styles, such as straight Virginias, Latakia blends, aromatics, etc. I find Latakia blends to be more full flavored and smokey, Virginia Periques to be spicier, straight Virginia's to be sweeter. I am partial to spirit infused aromatics, such as Frog Morton's Cellar and McClelland's 35th Anniversary Stave Aged Virginia. G.L. Pease blends are all fantastic; Sextant, Navigator, and Cairo are my Favorites of those. You might enjoy his Key Largo, which has some cigar leaf. Hearth and Home Black House and White Knight are great Latakia Blends as well.

There is an endless variety of pipe tobacco out there, and I have smoked more than 200 different blends in 35 years. You won't believe the amazing flavors to be experienced.

Welcome to the forum. Cortaz and rigmedic summarized things beautifully. As a pipe and cigar smoker my tastes run more toward English blends but I do indulge in some aromatics when the sweet tooth calls for something different.

When I'm done with a bowl I insert a pipe cleaner through the stem into the bowl and leave it there until I use that pipe again. Depending on how many pipes you have it is easy to let the pipe rest for a day just by default.

If you crave a cigar blend I can recommend C&D's Billy Budd. It's a burley based blend with cigar leaf added.

Having a few cobs is always a good idea because you can use them to test blends without risking ghosting a briar. Cobs are incredibly durable and very reasonable cost-wise.

Enjoy your time here and have fun with the hobby. Happy Smoke Rings.

Yep Cortez is on the money with this situation. Meerschaums tend to require a very limited rest period. This is principally due to the absorbent qualities of the rock that they are carved from and is also effected by the quality of the material used to form the pipe. I own one Briar and I let that rest for a week or so between smokes. I would add in closing it is always wise to keep your pipes clean and free of tars and oils. Welcome to the forum!

Hi there-
For best results, rest a pipe one week between smokes- although regular cleaning is just as important. As others mentioned, you can push meerschaum a lot harder.
As far as recommendations for robust tobaccos, you should try two different genres: Virginia/Virginia Perique and English/Balkan
My recommendations for each(there are others that I might recommend but they are usually sold out). These are all very well respected blends among seasoned pipers:
Virginia/Virginia Perique
Sam Gawith Full Virginia Flake

Escudo

McCranie's Red Ribbon
English/Balkan
Capt. Earle's Ten Russians

Pipes and Cigars.com's White Knight (Balkan Sobranie knock-off)

Dunhill 965

Welcome, for full I would suggest HH Old Dark Fired and for a really strong blend Jackknife Plug. The JKP has flavors that I think are similar to bold cigar flavor with a sweet and pepper taste. It is also nice and strong. As far as rotating pipes, I will give my pipes a rest for a day in between smokes but I don't really have dedicated pipes to certain blends. I do try not to smoke a aromatic out of one pipe and then immediately use that pipe to smoke another flavor and I have really only been using my cobs for the aromatic blends because they tend to be more moist and the cob is good for that extra moisture in the blend.

Another I forgot to add. Check out the tobacco crawl posts for reviews of different blends each month from the forum members. You might consider joining to experience a new tobacco each week and then discuss the results. It has really improved my understanding of blend types and flavor distinction.

The principal point is to let you pipe dry adequately. Common recommendations range from that of Cortez (24 hours per bowl) to 4 days rest (like a baseball pitcher). During the week my pipes usually get several days rest. Back in my grandfather's day, a pipe smoker (aside from the affluent) had a pipe, maybe two, and smoked it all the time. Then, again, I've never had a pipe go sour on me and I believe that has a lot to do with resting and letting the pipe dry.
On a weekend I smoke more and don't have enough pipes to give them several days rest in between. This is especially true on a 3-day weekend. During such times I'll go with shorter rest -- 24 hours, maybe. On occasion I have smoked more and rested less, particularly when travelling, and with no perceptible damage. My point being that while you should rest your pipes when you can, and have enough of a rotation to give a couple of days rest under normal circumstances, it is highly unlikely that you will ruin a pipe if you smoke it on short rest once in a while. For me, if the trade-off is between giving a pipe more rest, and having one more bowl at the end of the day, I throw caution to the wind and have the extra smoke. No reason to get too hung up in the "rules." If I had expensive Dunhills and Castellos I might be somewhat less cavalier.
On the other hand, insisting on 3 or 4 days rest between smokes, and allowing for the times of the year when you might be smoking more (holiday weekends, etc), means that you can justify a whole lot more pipes. So, if you are looking for an excuse to buy more . . .

Welcome to the wonderful world of piping, and very nice looking pipe. The main thing is there are no hard rules in pipe smoking.....except don't use your pipe as a sledge hammer.
As concerns rotation, I try and give my pipes 24 hours. Sometimes it's 24 days sometimes I smoke a pipe twice in a day. Whatever you do, run a cleaner through and get the goop out. Once in a while when you can let it sit unsmoked for a couple of days, get some Everclear/Graves grain alcohol, and clean the airways, the alcohol leeches the oils out.
I myself dedicate pipes to tobacco types, a few to very particular types, and a very few to particular blends. Some pipes by chamber geometry are suited to certain types of tobacco. Then again, sometimes a pipe doesn't know it has the chamber geometry ideally suited to Virginias, and decides it will be the King of Latakia blends. Its trial and error to find out. Of course many smoke all types of blends, and that is perfectly fine.
I came off cigars into pipes, and fell straight in love with English tobaccos, Rattrays Highland Targe and The Gatllinburlier's GatlinBurley were my first loves. I'll list a few in different categories that I think have good flavor.
English, Scottish, Balkans and Orientals

-C&D- Black Duck, Star of the East, Rajahs Court

-Hearth & Home- White Knight, Black House, Fusilier's Ration

-Pease- Caravan, Abingdon

-F&K- Lancer's Slices

-Rattray- Red Parraree, Accountant's Mixture, Highland Targe

-Peretti-Tashkent, Royal Blend
Virginias, VaPers and VaOrs

-McClelland- Matured Va. No 24, Navy Cavendish, the entire Grand Oriental line is awesome

-Escudo-

-Dunhill- Navy Rolls

-Sam Gawith- Full Virginia Flake, Navy Flake

-Rattray- Old Gowrie, Marlin Flake

-Astley's- No's 44 and 109

That really depends on the size of your pipe's tobacco chamber, I suppose. I never really counted, since I rotate through a large number of tobaccos at any given time. I have gotten 6 or 7 pioes from a half ounce sample, and 50 grams is about 1.75 oz. Sorry, you will have to do the math, lol.

Welcome sir, you've just stepped into a whole new world of fun and adventure. Many have already offered great blend suggestions and I have to 3rd the recommendation for C&Ds - Billy Budd, a great "in your face" full favored blend with cigar leaf. Many of the C&D blends are great. As is most all of the GL Pease blends, Gaslight is one that is a favorite of mine.
I too came from cigar smoking and find I like fuller tasting pipe tobacco. My first English style was Dunhill's Early Morning Pipe. My first bowl of that, and I knew this was the style of tobacco for me.
Check out Seattle Pipe Club's Mississippi River or Plum Pudding. I myself, prefer the latter of the two but both blends have a huge following of pipers.
Dont rule out the OTC(over the counter) or drugstore blends like Carter Hall and Prince Albert. Both are easily attained and are good smokes. There's a reason they've been around so long.
Anyway, try not to get overwhelmed with all the options available, dont be afraid to ask questions here. We're a supportive bunch. Oh and most of all enjoy the journey.

One thing you might want to establish is whether you are a burley smoker or not. A fair number of

pipe smokers can't taste it much, or don't like it when they do taste it. Others, like me, really savor

burley and enjoy it in rotation with Virginia based English blends, Virginia Perique, and others. So buy

a small sample of burley and see how you like it. Carter Hall is a basic burley blend, or Lanes bulk

Burley Without Bite would make a good test. If you do like Burley, Cornell & Diehl has outstanding burley

blends to try, some full strength blends like Big 'n Burley and Billy Budd. GLP does a great burley forward

plug, Triple Play, when you get to plug tobacco (don't rush that unless you already like it). Just a few

ideas.

Welcome Wasatch!

Cortez has summed it up in a nutshell, and you can't go wrong with that advice.

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+1
FWIW, when possible I prefer to let my briars rest 3-4 days. The drier a pipe is, the better the smoke and 24 hours is enough for many folks, but I find I enjoy a smoke if I let it dry even longer.