New to pipe smoking and lament the waning availability of traditional tobacco shops for here in Los Angeles. I hope for a re-flourishing in the coming years. No shortage of hookah and cigar lounges here (which I enjoy as well).
I have a few pipes (Peterson Sherlock Holmes Ebony, Ropp Honoré de Balzac, and a petite item with beautiful inlay that I picked up at a renaissance faire).
No opinion on a favorite tobacco yet, still sampling. Currently in my tiny cellar are Bengal Slices, Plum Pudding/Seattle Pipe Club, Officer's Club/East India Trading Co., and Brigadier Black's Alamo.
"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man." – Heraclitus