If you haven’t heard of Kilroy’s Workshop, you’re missing out on a very innovative business that teaches metalworking trades to students aged 9 and up. Ron Hardman, the owner, has built the business into something special along with his 25 staff members.
Kilroy’s Workshop teaches classes in blacksmithing, welding, casting, and jewelry-making. Students start at the same point—no matter what age. It’s common for a 10-year-old and a 40-year-old to be in the same class. Hardman sees more than 4,000 students each year, and half of those are under 18 years old.
If you’re a fan of the History Channel’s Forged in Fire series, you’ve undoubtedly seen several Kilroy’s students compete on the show. They compete for a $10,000 prize while forging elaborate knives and weapons. So far, Kilroy’s has had 13 smiths compete, and 4 were named Forged In Fire Champion, including Hardman, who won in 2019 competing with his daughter.
Many of Kilroy’s students are diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) before coming to the shop, and their self-confidence may be lacking. Coming from school environments that are not built for “Active Learners,” as Hardman calls them, it’s been common for them to show up for their first Kilroy’s class thinking there is something wrong with them or they cannot learn.
Hardman tears up as he tells stories of so many kids who have turned their lives around after attending Kilroy’s Workshop. He’s seen a lot of their pain and has helped to heal it. He instills discipline in the kids from the get-go. There is a firm “no cussing” rule. If they can’t control their tongues, they can’t control the dangers of the work they are doing with fire.
The metalworking trades require concentration and the kids need to be able to follow Hardman’s rules. These kids often don’t fit into traditional school settings and they thrive at Kilroy’s. Hardman remembers back to when his dad was a shop teacher, and he longs for the days when kids were taught to use their hands and create things in the school setting. Not everyone was meant to be sitting at a desk all day.
Excalibur is an off-shoot of Kilroy’s Workshop that Hardman moved forward with in 2023. Of his 25 employees, 23 are former students. Excalibur Outdoor USA manufactures knives, cutlery, axes, hatchets, trailers, and tent stakes. These items are locally produced and American-made. Excalibur Outdoors contracted with the US Air Force Academy Association of Graduates to be the exclusive manufacturer of USAFA sabers. This is the first time these sabers will be made in the USA!
Excalibur has recently ventured into the world of federal government bids and contracts. The government bidding process lacks transparency and it’s frustrating. Hardman wants to compete on merit when he bids on a contract. The products he makes are of high quality. Should it matter that the owner is a white male? Many of his employees are female, or they are minorities – hired on merit, not based on their sex or skin color. Should they be at an employment disadvantage because the owner is a white man? He’s been introduced to a world of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). When bidding on a project, he’d rather not waste his time jumping through the hoops to get a contract he was never going to get in the first place because he is white. The process is a broken one.
Hardman took me on a tour of Excalibur and Kilroy’s Workshop. He and his Excalibur employees are working on a couple of military prototypes for soldiers in war zones. Not every war zone has sand for sandbags and servicemen need to be able to protect themselves from gunfire during battles. Hardman and his Excalibur employees are creating a ballistic barrier innovation that is both mobile and can be set up in only 5 minutes. This is the kind of product Americans want for those who serve our country.
It’s nice to know that there are people out there like Hardman. He’s making a difference in the community and perseveres with a spirit of American Exceptionalism. There are evil forces out there that want to strangle that out of the country, but people like Hardman aren’t going to allow that to happen. I encourage readers to head over to Kilroy’s Workshop and check out some of the classes. Perhaps you want to tap into your creative side and find a new hobby. If you have a kid who would benefit from Kilroy’s Workshop, Hardman is enrolling students now. Kilroy’s Workshop also books special events like bachelor parties, birthdays, and more. This is a business we want to support in our community!