A couple of years ago, I had a coworker ask if I could make a miniature branding iron for branding her BBQ steaks. At the time, I used rusted old metal from scrap that I found laying around, and didn't think that anybody should put my figurines on their food.

This last year, I discovered "bright" nails, which are untreated, meaning that they're ok to put on your food, stick in your mouth, whatever. They produce no fumes when welding them, and they happen to be perfect for making these miniature branding irons. I made this one of a Roman numeral III that a client wanted to use for branding wood. As you can see in the photos, it does the job just fine.

I think I'm going to start a side welding project, just making little branding irons for people. I'm sure there's a market for it...