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Oof, didn't know that's what the laser did. How about the etchings on old handlebars, like the decorations on the sides and grooves on the clamp area? In any case I'm sort of stuck with these bars so hopefully nothing happens.
rawmeat-
How about the etchings on old handlebars
Generally, they weren't etched or engraved, they were roll stamped. While less than satisfactory from a structural point of view, the fact that rolling dies forge the material into round-bottomed grooves is much better than cutting, because the stress peak is lower and it acts on a part of the material which has been work hardened.
Oh, and roll stamping is several orders of magnitude cheaper than engraving for mass production, which is the actual reason why they used that technique :)
gbj_tester
There is a world of difference. Laser etch doesn't remove any metal, it just ablates the dye from the anodising.