Showcase #115: Service Technician from Balen, Belgium

Welcome to the Urban EDC Showcase! Each week, we feature one member of the EDC community and the gear they rely on every day. Want to be featured? Submit your gear photo.

This week, from Balen, Belgium, we sit down with Stephen (@zenmasteru) who works as a service technician for Land Rover and Jaguar. Even though he has always carried a knife or multitool, it wasn’t until backing the Ti2 Design HALO carabiner on Kickstarter that reignited his EDC interest. Read on for the full story of Stephen’s favorite makers, designers and refined carry choices!

Featured Tools:

• Knife: Giant Mouse GMF-1 
  The is a design collaboration between two of the best knife designers, in my opinion, Jens Ansø and Jesper Voxnæs. The two of them and along with gear designer and Golden Gate Goods owner, Jim Wirth came up with the Giant Mouse brand. It’s just a great little EDC knife. Light, small, great blade shape and comes with a beautiful natural leather sheath - which is probably the least practical thing of my lightweight EDC setup, but it’s a negligible detail.
  
  
• Pen: Ti2 Design Techliner
  This is my Techliner pen in CP2/ grade 2 titanium with Mitsubishi Uni-ball SXR-7 refills. I use this all the time at home and at work. Since it’s really lightweight - titanium (26 grams with clip) - I don’t even notice it in my pocket.
  
  The pen has a magnetic cap and has another magnet on the clip side, which helped me fish out stuff from between my car seats on several occasions. I came across it on the Ti2 Design webshop after I backed his HALO project Kickstarter. I love it because of the weight, magnets, sleek look and it can double as a tactical pen.
  
  
• Wallet: Bellroy Slim Sleeve
  I first noticed another Bellroy wallet, the Note Sleeve, when I just started using Instagram and went looking for that model. In the end, I decided to try the Slim Sleeve instead. It’s a great way to slim down your wallet.
  
  I was tired of my bulky wallet that was packed with cards and notes. With its compact design and minimal pockets, the Slim Sleeve also encourages me to carry less. It has two main card pockets where you can store one card and two other pockets for cash or multiple cards. One of those has a convenient pull-tab which makes it easy to access your cards. This is my second one as my first in black was stolen at a concert.
  
  
• Knuck: Instamattias 2FK
  I got this from a fellow Belgian on Instagram who makes knucks in his spare time. It’s a 2-finger knuck made from 304 stainless steel. It can be used as a cigar holder, but I don’t smoke so I use it as a worry stone until I need to use it as a knuck.
  
  
• Carabiner: Ti2 Design HALO
  I got this multitool carabiner after I backed the Kickstarter project. It’s also the tool that got me more into EDC and also using Instagram. It can be used as box opener, tape cutter, chisel, pry bar, scraper, hex bit driver, and bottle opener. The holes can be used for lanyards as well. I use the large one for a smaller carabiner that holds my keyring.

Background:

My name is Stephen Nys. I live in Balen, Belgium. I’m originally from Heusden, Belgium. I work as a service technician for JLR - Land Rover / Jaguar at Peeters Motors in Herentals, Belgium.

My hobbies include listening to music, playing the guitar, fishing, camping and hiking with my future wife, 5-year-old daughter and 7-year-old stepson.

I’ve always carried a knife and carabiner or multitool of some sort for as long as I can remember but really got into it after I saw the Kickstarter for the Ti2 Design HALO carabiner on another EDC website.

Favorite EDC Tool:

Would have to say the Techliner. I use it the most and it looks great. If I’m not writing with it, then I’m playing with the magnets on it.

Next On Your Gear Radar:

The thing I want the most right now is a custom Ansø Monte Carlo knife. I was saving to get one this year, but fate or karma decided otherwise when someone wrecked my car. I had to use most of my hobby money for another car. So now I'm saving up for one again. In the near future I might be looking at an Ansø carabiner or multitool.