My husband had me buy this for our chimney. I am not a chimney expert and have only helped my husband clean our old chimney twice but I thought I'd give a review in case it helps anyone. We have an older home and the chimney was not cared for by the previous owners. We ended up having to clean out years of black slime and ash residue. We had an 8" round chimney brush and our own handles but not luck. Our chimney was a non standard size so we bought this 7" and it worked just right. The chimney was tight to begin with because of all the build-up but the 7" brush from Rutland got the job done. My husband is not kind to these types of tools and neither is the chimney. After two cleanings and many grumblings from my husband, I can say that it has held up to the beatings. It is a tough little brush and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to clean their own chimney.