Montana Folklife Demonstrator
Metal Engraver | Dubois, ID
Thirty-four years ago, Bev Gilger started Dubois Leather, a leather shop in Dubois, Idaho. It was there she met her husband Steve and together they repaired shoes and saddles and built custom boots for 20 years.
Then one Christmas, Bev got an engraver. She practiced using it every chance she got, but was so busy in the shop, she had little time left to learn engraving. She and her husband decided to sell the shop and go back to ranch work so they had time to do leather projects and engraving in the winter.
Bev enjoys engraving on metal the most, so she works mostly on guns. She’s engraved about 50 guns, many for pilots who want images of their crop duster or small plane engraved on their guns. She also engraves on silver horn caps and cantle plates, conchos for saddles, pocket watches and belt buckles.
Bev says, “Drawing patterns and putting them on metal isn’t too far off from drawing patterns on leather. It is all a fun way to make a project pleasing to the eye and personalized to the customer.”