A boring bit or other component for horizontal directional drilling is provided which includes a hard faced layer that is preferably made by a laser cladding bead. A subsequent or post heat treatment is applied to modify the heat affected zone (HAZ) to eliminate or reduce the hard brittle regions and/or softer regions in the base iron or steel material of the HAZ. Further, the hard faced layer may be applied in combination with carbide insert teeth that are embedded within the steel base of the boring bit body, such as by press fitting.