Abstract: The invention includes pieces of ceramic armor, methods of joining a carbide with a metal-comprising piece, and methods of metallizing carbide-comprising surfaces. In one implementation, a method of joining a carbide with a metal-comprising piece includes providing a mixture comprising (a) and (b) over a carbide-comprising surface of a substrate, where (a) comprises at least one of niobium and titanium, and (b) comprises silicon. The mixture is heated over the carbide-comprising surface at least to the melting temperatures (a) and (b). The melted mixture is solidified into an adherent layer on the substrate. A metal-based joining material is provided over the adherent layer. Metal of a metal-comprising piece is welded to the substrate with the metal-based joining material.