davester : thanks for the education. I don’t buy a lot of chains so my experience is limited in terms of new chains - the last new one I bought for a 3-speed did still have a master link with clip, and I have a supply of “new in package” master links for the chains I have.
And on the motorcycle side, bought a new chain last year and it came with both a peenable master as well as a clip style; the interwebs are split on which to use (pun intended) but the manufacturer recommends using the peen style. Splitting that chain also uses a pin tool like the bicycle but mega-sized.