A method and apparatus for removing material from a cutting insert is disclosed. A source of electromagnetic radiation produces a laser beam that passes through a aperture for truncating a dimension of the laser beam and a homogenizer for providing a cross section of the laser beam with a uniform energy density. A mask having a predetermined shape reduces the dimension of the laser beam, and an imaging lens projects the laser beam onto a surface of the cutting insert. The predetermined shape of the mask provides for selective adjustment of an amount of material removed from the surface of the cutting insert. In one embodiment, the mask has a shape of an isosceles trapezoid for producing a T-land surface at the intersection between a top rake face and the flank face of the cutting insert.