Hello robsteele,
Thanks for allowing us to see what you have described as a '69' bend.
No - its not new.
All of the possible combinations of bends that can be created inter-linked or superposed loops have been tied at one time or another by Xarax, yChan and myself (and likely a number of others too).
Just some quick responses to your comments (if i may):
I was playing around with ways to join two overhand knots and thought that beginning a zeppelin bend with the bights intertwined might be an improvement.
I am interested that you tried to 'improve' the Zeppelin bend.
Be aware that it is (in its native form) already a superb way to unite 2 ropes. It is totally jam resistant and its both stable and secure.
I have not been able to induce jamming despite loading all the way to its MBS yield point.
Please note: The Zeppelin bend is created from 2 loops that are
superposed.
The 'bend' that you presented is created from 2 loops that are
inter-linked.
I have found that most (but not all) bends created from
inter-linked loops are vulnerable to jamming.
An exception is the #1053 derived Butterfly bend which appears to be jam resistant right up to its MBS yield point.
Note that the #1053 derived Butterfly bend is built from 2 inter-linked loops which have
opposite chirality (and with tails oriented in
same direction).
I found this https://photos.app.goo.gl/FYMf2vYVcbLFYR7W8, which is just a twist away from Hunter's Bend, which is much more compact and elegant.
I personally disagree with your claim of elegance and compactness.
To my eye, the #1425A Riggers bend has a nice symmetry and essentially has the same footprint (ie volume/size) as your '69 bend'.
The 'X' version of #1425A has quite a nice symmetrical form too.
...
Some additional comments:
The '69' bend that you presented is created from 2 loop that are inter-linked.
The loop on the left side has
S (left-handed) chirality and the loop on the right side has
Z (right-handed) chirality.
The tails are oriented 180 degrees in opposition.
The concept of '69' is actually arbitrary.
For example, the loop on the left side could be
Z (right-handed) and the loop on the right side could be
S (left-handed); and it would still be a '69'.
My point is that '69' doesn't really tell you anything meaningful because it fails to inform what the starting loop chirality is.
You can try this yourself... tie the '69' bend but reverse the chirality of the loops.
Once you understand loop chirality - and which way the tails are oriented with respect to each other - you can create a whole cohort of 'bends'.
yChan has attempted to do this but, his vast array of 'bends' are presented in a way that is very difficult to comprehend - its 'big data' that has not been ordered and structured in a way that is easy to understand. I urge you to have a look at all of yChan's work and you will see that he has indeed attempted to catalog every possible combination of 'bends' built from inter-linked or superposed loops. If he would re-structure his work into something more understandable - it could serve as a very useful catalog of all the combinations of bends formed from inter-linked and superposed loops. I would assume that your '69' bend is listed somewhere in yChan's database - but due to the 'big data' syndrome - its likely 'lost in translation'.
yChan might be willing to locate it and show you where it is located in his work...