Safety fuse The safety fuse is a type of fuse invented and patented by William Bickford in 1831 . Originally it consisted of a " tube " of gunpowder surrounded by a water - proofed varnished jute " rope " . It replaced earlier and less reliable methods of igniting gunpowder blasting charges which had caused many injuries and deaths in the mining industry . The safety fuse burnt at a rate of typically about 30 seconds per foot ( 1 second per cm ) . Brief history of gunpowder . Documentary evidence suggests that the earliest fuses were first used by the Chinese between the 10th and 12th centuries . After the Chinese had invented gunpowder , they began adapting its explosive properties for use in military technology . By 1044 they were using gunpowder in simple grenades , bombs , and flamethrowers . Gunpowder did not reach Europe until the early 13th century , carried over from China by European traders and merchants along the old Silk Road . For three centuries gunpowder was primarily used for military warfare . It was not until 1574 that gunpowder was first introduced to the mining industry , and it took until 1617 before it was first used in a large - scale mining operation — at Thillot in France . Sensitivity of gunpowder . One of the problems miners faced when introducing gunpowder into their operations was that it was relative easy to ignite when exposed to sparks , intense heat , or flames . The method used by miners to blast away rock involved drilling several holes across a rock face which would be filled with charges of gunpowder . In order to confine the gases produced on ignition , the gunpowder was confined within each shot hole by inserting a pointed rod known as a " needle " in the gunpowder - charged hole and then packing in soft clay and tamping it down to form a plug . The " needle " was then removed and replaced by a fuse . To prevent sparking , a copper needle and a non - metallic ramming rod , typically made from hickory , were used . If a spark was created the results could be disastrous to the work force , and this was a common occurrence . Miners and mine owners were aware of the dangers of the use of gunpowder in mining , as is evident in their instructions for handling the material . A mill in England preparing the material wrote in its instructions , " Whosoever is at Labour within or without the powder magazines should execute his commission in such a respectful and revered silence as is seemly in such a place where ( unless the Almighty in his Grace keeps a protective hand over the Labour ) the least lack of care may not alone cause the loss of life of all present , but may even in a moment transform this place as well as its surroundings into a heap of stone . " The other major problem concerned the intentional ignition of the gunpowder charges . To provide some protection from the blast and the fumes , a nominated miner ignited the far end of the fuse which was intended to burn at a known rate . The miners , therefore , knowing the length of the fuse , could estimate the delay between ignition of the fuse and the ignition of the main charges . However , early fuses , known as filled " quills " , had a tendency to either burn irregularly , " flash off " , or break — either by separation or by " pinching " in the shot hole due to the tamping process . They could also be damaged allowing moisture in , which could cause them to smoulder instead of burn and introduce a long delay . If the main charge failed to ignite , this was known as a misfire or " hang fire " , and the miners would need to wait before returning to the work face to set new fuses . Increasingly , miners in Cornwall in the late 18th and early 19th centuries were becoming badly injured as a result of suspecting that there had been a misfire and returning to the work face just as a smouldering damp quill ignited the gunpowder charges . William Bickford . In 1831 William Bickford , an English merchant and a Methodist , originally from Ashburton , Devon , moved to the heart of the Cornish mining district near Camborne ; where at Tuckingmill he developed the first practical and reliable means for igniting gunpowder when mining , the " Safety Fuze " . After earlier attempts at developing a safer way had failed , Bickford had an insight while visiting his friend who was a ropemaker . While observing his friend winding cord together to generate a rope , Bickford believed he could adapt the same method towards developing a fuse . This was done with the help of his son - in - law George Smith and a working miner , Thomas Davey : who were also Methodists . Bickford invented a machine which would thread and weave two layers of jute yarn ( a shiny vegetable fibre ) , spun in opposite directions , over a small " tube " of gunpowder , the whole of which would then be " varnish ed " with tar to waterproof the product . The outcome was the development of a fuse which when lit " the fire only travels along it slowly , rate of burning . . . being about 30 seconds per foot . " Bickford had developed a fuse which would burn for a known length of time , depending on the length of the fuse . Bickford obtained a British Patent for his device ( No . 6159 " Safety Fuze for Igniting Gunpowder used in Blasting Rocks , Etc " ) on 6 September 1831 . It was originally called " The Patent Safety Rod " but its name was later changed to the " Safety Fuse " . It was supplied as a " rope " of about diameter ; and was sold at the time for about same price as its predecessor , quills , at three pence per fathom ( 6 ft , 1 . 8 m ) . Bickford also set up a partnership with Thomas Davey , who gained twenty five percent of the profits for the first fourteen years . Impact of the safety fuse . Given the unreliability of fuses and means of detonation prior to Bickford ’ s fuse , this new technology changed the safety and conditions of mining . Due to poor record keeping or lack thereof , it is relatively difficult to determine the exact number of mining accidents and related statistics prior to the invention of the safety fuse . However " this fuse soon replaced the less reliable fuses which were made of straws or quills filled with black powder , thus greatly reducing the hazard of accidental explosions in mining or construction . " Word of the reliability of Bickford ' s safety fuse spread , and was soon in large demand across world markets . Bickford ’ s fuse not only dramatically improved the safety conditions of mines around the world , but also contributed to the development of dynamite . Alfred Nobel created dynamite in 1867 , by moulding nitroglycerine and a mud - like compound found near his laboratories called kieselguhr into individual cylinders . At the end of each cylinder Nobel inserted a blast cap which could be ignited in one of two ways . First , by inserting a safety fuse into the blast cap and igniting the fuse , it will set the blast cap off a produce enough energy to detonate the dynamite . Second , it is possible to detonate dynamite by inserting a blast cap into the end of the cylinder and then by attaching an electrical wire into the blast cap and producing a current which will travel from the source to the blast cap will also set off the dynamite . See also . Plastic Igniter Cord