A series experiments were performed to evaluate mechanical behavior of non-oxide boride type ceramics formed on the AISI 1040 plain carbon steel. Boronizing was performed in a slurry salt bath consisting of borax, boric acid, and ferro-silicon at $950^{circ}C$ for 2-6h. The AISI 1040 steel used as substrate material was containing 0.4%C, 0.13%Si, 0.65%Mn, 0.02%P, 0.014%S. The presence of non-oxide boride type ceramics $Fe_2B $ and FeB formed on the surface of steel was confirmed by metallographic technique and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The hardness of borides measured via Vickers indenter with a load of 2N reached a microhardness of up to 1800 DPN. The hardness of unborided steel was 185 DPN. The fracture toughness of borides measured by means of Vickers indenter with a load of 10N was about 2.30 MPa.$m^{1/2}$. The thickness of boride layers ranged from 72$mu extrm{m}$ to 145$mu extrm{m}$. Boride layers have a columnar morphology.