General rule is one guide per foot, which agrees with Mudhole. While weight is a factor Eagle Claw was noted for cutting costs of rods by cutting out the number of guides.

I once cast an old Eagle Claw factory fly rod that was an 8' built with 5 guides - it was almost impossible to cast due to the slack between the guides! I have to disagree with ol' blue on this one. I would go with 7 or 6 at a minimum and look for light weight guides.

Isn't rod building fun - it's always a personal choice.