I smoke straight Virginia’s in New Pipes till I get a lil cake then move on to whatever I feel like. I have a few ARO only pipes for stuff that funks up but in general I start with Virginia’s then move on. However it seems all of my best smokers were caked initially with SWR and for 30 years those pipes have been flawless.
Take it for what it’s worth and your mileage may vary.
Don't underestimate a top tier pipe being made with a piece of $h!t briar that no one could’ve seen coming, including the maker.
It happens and anyone who says otherwise is just kidding themselves.
Then there’s the smoke what you want to smoke from day one and never look back crowd and they do just as well.
For me personally if a pipe cant handle the pressure I don't want it and the particular one that aggravated me the most was a Savinelli 320 that ran hot from smoke #1 to this day 20 years later.