Just realized traditional brushes beat rotary ones for masonry flues

I spent the better part of 15 years using a rotary whip system on every job, figuring it was faster and more thorough. Then last spring, I took on a 1920s farmhouse outside Harrisburg with really rough, deteriorating clay liner sections. The rotary kept snagging and throwing debris back down, so I switched to a stiff poly brush with a hand rod on the second pass. Honestly, the difference was night and day. The poly got into the pitted spots that the spinning cable just glossed over, and I had way less mess in the firebox afterward. My partner still swears by the rotary for straight, modern stainless runs, and I can see that side too. But for old masonry, I am now convinced the traditional hand brush is the better tool. Is anyone else finding that newer gear does not always beat the basic stuff, or am I crazy to go backwards in technique?

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