56 • Zips, Pipes, Pens Oldsters and children work side by side in Darra's famed cottage industry, turning out copies of all sorts of small arms in primitive plants such as this. (Courtesy of Helms Tool & Die, Ltd.) Kabul [the Afghan capital] years ago." Within two years, that plea was answered. One ambitious gun maker in the region had produced six fast-firing antiaircraft weapons, which he sold to the rebels for $2,000 each; compare that to the $15,000 to $25,000 that the United States pays for its .50