Figure-of-nine loop

{{Short description|Type of knot}}

{{Knot-details

| name=Figure-of-nine loop

| image=Neunerknoten-3.jpg

| names=Figure-nine loop

| type= loop

| strength=

| origin=

| related= Figure-eight knot, Figure-of-eight follow through, Figure-of-eight loop, Stevedore knot

| releasing=

| uses= Caving

| abok_number=

}}

The figure-of-nine loop is a type of knot to form a fixed loop in a rope. Tied in the bight, it is made similarly to a figure-of-eight loop but with an extra half-turn before finishing the knot.{{cite book |title=Alpine Caving Techniques; A Complete Guide to Safe and Efficient Caving |url=https://archive.org/details/alpinecavingtech00marb |url-access=limited |last=Marbach |first=Georges |year=2002 |location=Allschwil, Switzerland |publisher=Speleo Projects, Caving Publications International |author2=Bernard Tourte |others=English edition translated and adapted by Melanie Alspaugh |isbn=3-908495-10-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/alpinecavingtech00marb/page/n78 72]}}

Also similar to the stevedore loop, the figure-nine loop is generally shown as being based on an intermediate form between the figure-eight knot and the stevedore knot.{{cite book |title=On Rope; North American Vertical Rope Techniques |edition=New Revised |first=Bruce |last=Smith |year=1996 |location=Huntsville, Ala. |publisher=National Speleological Society |author2=Allen Padgett |isbn=1-879961-05-9|pages=46–47}} The Ashley Book of Knots shows this intermediate knot, in stopper form, as #521.{{citation |last=Ashley |first=Clifford W. |title=The Ashley Book of Knots |orig-year=1944 |year= 1993 |publisher=Doubleday |location=New York |isbn=0-385-04025-3 |page=85}}

While it uses more rope and is bulkier than the figure-of-eight loop, the figure-nine loop is somewhat stronger and less likely to jam. It is sometimes used instead of a figure-of-eight loop to attach a rope to an anchor point or belay.