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The Last Gunsmiths of the Khyber Pass

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Re: The Last Gunsmiths of the Khyber Pass

#31

Post by arbhassan »

phobosanomaly wrote: post #30
arbhassan wrote: post #4

Oh hey! I'm from that area. If you guys have any queries. :). Also the quality isn't top notch, but for the price you are paying it's ok. You are much better off buying a Russian AK-47 for $1100 like i did than buying it from Khyber for $120.

Are you involved in the tech industry in Afghanistan or Pakistan? Is there a local software dev industry there? Would love to hear more!

I've never been to Afghanistan.

Yes! There's a big local software dev industry in Pakistan but i work remotely for foreign companies.

Re: The Last Gunsmiths of the Khyber Pass

#32

Post by quietthrow »

beamatronic wrote: post #15
arbhassan wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People here LOVE guns. Everyone owns multiple guns in their house. I think it's our pukhtoon culture and a sense of pride and security that comes with owning a gun. When i was a kid my father used to clean his AK every other week and i would sit by him silently and enjoying as he broke it down into multiple pieces and then make it into one piece after cleaning it. For me i wanted to have my own original Russian AK be…

What part of Texas did you say ?

LOL

Re: The Last Gunsmiths of the Khyber Pass

#33

Post by phobosanomaly »

arbhassan wrote: post #31
phobosanomaly wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you involved in the tech industry in Afghanistan or Pakistan? Is there a local software dev industry there? Would love to hear more!

I've never been to Afghanistan. Yes! There's a big local software dev industry in Pakistan but i work remotely for foreign companies.

Are there any interesting software projects coming out of Pakistan that you are excited about, but maybe outsiders may not be so familiar with?

Re: The Last Gunsmiths of the Khyber Pass

#34

Post by vosper »

thatguy0900 wrote: post #27

Forgotten weapons, a YouTube channel that documents lesser known guns, has quite a few videos on khyber pass guns https://youtu.be/rZZTD3w_a5Q https://youtu.be/n5S_qmBL_KM https://youtu.be/zTvxFNRLbiw His videos on "Chinese mystery pistols" are also quite good

I really like how Ian McCollum (host of Forgotten Weapons) discusses guns without glorifying them. He doesn’t seem to be a war or gun nut, and he doesn’t seem interested (or at least he presents no obvious interest) in violence, death, or destruction. It makes the videos enjoyable for me, as someone who finds the engineering, ingenuity, and historical context interesting.

Re: The Last Gunsmiths of the Khyber Pass

#35

Post by phobosanomaly »

astatine wrote: post #12
arbhassan wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People here LOVE guns. Everyone owns multiple guns in their house. I think it's our pukhtoon culture and a sense of pride and security that comes with owning a gun. When i was a kid my father used to clean his AK every other week and i would sit by him silently and enjoying as he broke it down into multiple pieces and then make it into one piece after cleaning it. For me i wanted to have my own original Russian AK be…

Do you get original ammunition or are they made locally as well? How often do you use it? Or is it a status symbol, primarily? Is it carried along when you generally go out or only on special occasions. I haven't ever exchanged messages with anyone who owned a gun, let alone an AK47 and the novelty raises a lot of questions!

If you ever get the chance 'The Gun' by CJ Chivers is a fascinating history of the AK47 and its spread around the world.

Re: The Last Gunsmiths of the Khyber Pass

#36

Post by jrumbut »

arbhassan wrote: post #4

Oh hey! I'm from that area. If you guys have any queries. :). Also the quality isn't top notch, but for the price you are paying it's ok. You are much better off buying a Russian AK-47 for $1100 like i did than buying it from Khyber for $120.

I read about the Khyber Pass area growing up and it sounds like such a beautiful place with a long and interesting (and unfortunately violent) history.

Do you think there will be a time in our lives that outside visitors will be able to see it? Do you think that would be good or is there more value in the almost globally unique degree of independence the area has maintained going all the way back before Alexander the Great?

Keep in mind I have no clue what the Khyber Pass is actually like except what I read, and I haven't even read too much.

Re: The Last Gunsmiths of the Khyber Pass

#37

Post by arbhassan »

jrumbut wrote: post #36
arbhassan wrote: post #4

Oh hey! I'm from that area. If you guys have any queries. :). Also the quality isn't top notch, but for the price you are paying it's ok. You are much better off buying a Russian AK-47 for $1100 like i did than buying it from Khyber for $120.

I read about the Khyber Pass area growing up and it sounds like such a beautiful place with a long and interesting (and unfortunately violent) history. Do you think there will be a time in our lives that outside visitors will be able to see it? Do you think that would be good or is there more value in the almost globally unique degree of independence the area has maintained going all the way back before Alexander the…

You can visit anytime you want. Outside visitors do come all the time. It's not as dangerous as the media portrays.

Tourists used to visit these places all the time. But they stopped coming as much after 9/11. Nowadays it's pretty much normal and peaceful.

There are alot of foreign YouTubers who have made vlogs. You should check em out.

Re: The Last Gunsmiths of the Khyber Pass

#38

Post by vishnugupta »

arbhassan wrote: post #4

Oh hey! I'm from that area. If you guys have any queries. :). Also the quality isn't top notch, but for the price you are paying it's ok. You are much better off buying a Russian AK-47 for $1100 like i did than buying it from Khyber for $120.

I am from India, and I’d love to explore that beautiful area one day. For several reasons, the historical importance of the region is one. So I had a couple of questions.

How safe is it for Indians to visit the Khyber region? I speak Hindi/Urdu with conversational fluency. Can I get by? What’s the best and shortest route to take to get there?

Thanks to HN, I am conversing with someone from a region which seems so remote its almost been mythologized here in India

Re: The Last Gunsmiths of the Khyber Pass

#39

Post by erklik »

vishnugupta wrote: post #38
arbhassan wrote: post #4

Oh hey! I'm from that area. If you guys have any queries. :). Also the quality isn't top notch, but for the price you are paying it's ok. You are much better off buying a Russian AK-47 for $1100 like i did than buying it from Khyber for $120.

I am from India, and I’d love to explore that beautiful area one day. For several reasons, the historical importance of the region is one. So I had a couple of questions. How safe is it for Indians to visit the Khyber region? I speak Hindi/Urdu with conversational fluency. Can I get by? What’s the best and shortest route to take to get there? Thanks to HN, I am conversing with someone from a region which seems so rem…

> How safe is it for Indians to visit the Khyber region? I speak Hindi/Urdu with conversational fluency. Can I get by? What’s the best and shortest route to take to get there?

As an Indian citizen, it will be basically impossible for you to get a visa to Pakistan, especially to visit Khyber Pass.

Indians are only eligible for business, pilgrim or visitor visas to Pakistan. The pilgrim visa allows Indians to visit 15 sites in Pakistan for religious tourism.

The visitor visa is granted if you have close family members or friends in Pakistan and you can only visit a maximum of 5 cities for 3 months. More so, you will have to register and present yourself to the police every week I think.

If you have a citizenship of some other country, it does become easier but there will be an "eye" kept on you since both Pakistani and Indian governments are quite paranoid about each other's citizens being spies and visiting an area like Khyber Pass invites more suspiciousness.

Re: The Last Gunsmiths of the Khyber Pass

#40

Post by arbhassan »

vishnugupta wrote: post #38
arbhassan wrote: post #4

Oh hey! I'm from that area. If you guys have any queries. :). Also the quality isn't top notch, but for the price you are paying it's ok. You are much better off buying a Russian AK-47 for $1100 like i did than buying it from Khyber for $120.

I am from India, and I’d love to explore that beautiful area one day. For several reasons, the historical importance of the region is one. So I had a couple of questions. How safe is it for Indians to visit the Khyber region? I speak Hindi/Urdu with conversational fluency. Can I get by? What’s the best and shortest route to take to get there? Thanks to HN, I am conversing with someone from a region which seems so rem…

It's pretty safe.

I don't know about the visa details etc but being able to speak urdu/hindi fluently should be enough. No one's will be able to tell if you are an Indian as alot of people from Punjab province who speak Urdu and look like indians visit alot.

The locals will mistake you for being a Punjabi. :)

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