Knipex Sale at Menards

Again in April Menards is having a Knipex sale. Here’s last years sale:

This savings this year on the pliers wrenches aren’t as good as last year, but some of the other tools have identical sale prices like the Linesman’s pliers are $40 down from $50.

https://www.menards.com/main/search.html?search=knipex

Saw that at my daily visit there(sad but true), nice tools to be sure but really tough to justify the $$$$$$$$$$$$ for a wrench. Spent $80 on a snapy screw driver once(best damn ratcheting driver out there) only to have it walk away a few weeks later, now I just get hand tools I wouldn’t lose sleep over if they found their way into other hands.

Looks like an OK sale. My comparison of the 86 03 250 - the pliers wrench we had dozens of - and is my personal go to tool - says that on sale at Menards -

https://www.menards.com/main/tools-hardware/hand-tools/pliers-plier-sets/knipex-10-pliers-wrench/p-1444437031235-c-9156.htm?tid=2866087357379840904

it is just a bit pricier than at Chads Toolbox:

I know that some folks have had issues with Chads shipping from Alaska and sometimes selling items that are backordered - but for the most part having dealt with them for years buying hundreds of tools from them - I’ve been satisfied. But if I needed it right away - then Menards might be better.

For comparison it is much pricier at KC Tools - but does come with free shipping:

and about $10 more at Amazon:

now if you can wait for one of Zoro’s 30% off sales their regular price is $48.90 - so it would be $34.23 with 30% off - but those sales come infrequently - and often have a minimum purchase of $300

https://www.zoro.com/knipex-pliers-wrench-10-in-86-03-250-sba/i/G1537392/?rapi=baynote

Re cr8ondt 's sad commentary on the worst of human nature - it is sad indeed that we decide not to buy something because of the bitter sting of having a nice tool stolen. Over more than 4 decades of working and also running a business, I knew that theft was an unfortunate cost of doing business - but it still upset me. We had a policy of buying most of the tools needed by our employees to accomplish their work. We would buy what we thought was most cost effective and sought out informed advice from our workers - often testing out new tools that offered the prospect of improved productivity, enhanced safety etc. The Knipex plier wrenches - once we heard about them and tried them out - were a class of tools that we embraced - along these lines. We also gave our lead carpenters the choice of a Lie-Nielsen or Veritas block plane as an example - but (as a different example) eschewed buying high end titanium hammers - allowing individuals to buy their own if they wanted. We had a policy of signing out tools to employees for off-hours personal work as a deterrent to unofficial borrowing.

Apropos this post - Chads Toolbox is having a 5% off sale with coupon code: aprilshowers

This week Menards has dropped the price of the pliers wrenches even further. The 7-1/4" are $35 and the 10" are $40.

I looked at these at menards today, but didn’t know what size to get. I can only justify buying one right now, do you guys find yourself grabbing/using the 7 or 10 inch size the most? Or which would be a better first purchase

As you observe - both are good lengths and jaw capacities to have - but if you only can buy one - then think through what your major use will be.
We used the 7 inch (180mm) size (and even the 150mm and 125mm sizes) in tighter spaces - on bonnet and fitting nuts etc.
We used the 10 inch (250mm ) size (and the 300mm and 400mm sizes) more on traps and small unions.