Abstract A new shearing-cone plastometer, suitable for investigating the plastic-flow relations of highly viscous materials over a wide range of stress, is described. A mushroom-shaped rotor, having upper and lower surfaces of conical type, is rotated in the plastic material contained in a cylindrical mould. With this type of shearing surface the rate of shear is uniform throughout the material, except for a small edge zone, thus overcoming some disadvantages of previous plastometers. The mechanical design is based on the Mooney shearing-disk plastometer except that provision is made for a wide range of speeds of rotation.