I did the (common cents) penny thing, and right now it flexes much from the tip. Won't more guides distribute the flex into the blank more, or is it more to avoid the line slapping the blank?

Oh yea, that is what ya said.

Ok, I want to slow it down some. This isn't a rod I plan on fishing much, it is more of a labor of love. Dad wasn't a big fly fisherman anyway, but his stuff is what got me into the sport.

I think his favorite thing to fish with was the spin reel he bought me when I was 14. Funny how that worked out