No humidor required for pipe tobacco.....mason jars that seal well seem to be the preferred method of storage.
Here are some vendor recommendations: http://www.cigarsmokers.com/threads/...co-Vendor-List

I can't give you any experienced answers to your other questions as I'm still dabbling in the pipe and tobacco's myself. There should be someone here who can help you out though, so I'll bump this thread for ya.