from MAKE: Blog:

Each year there is more interest in locksports, or hobby lock picking, until recently, the hobby of lock picking in much of the world has been a solitary pursuit with enthusiasts practicing their skills alone - but that’s changing. At technology events, hacker conferences and with groups like locksport more folks are taking up this challenging sport and hobby.

This year MAKE has put together the only lock picking gift guide that we know, we hope you enjoy it - Special thanks to Austin Appel and Doug Farre (The president of Locksport International) who helped put this lockingpicking gift guide together!

Things you should look at if you want to learn about lockpicking…

The LSI guide to lockpicking.
The MIT guide to lockpicking.
Lockpick Guide .COM

Don’t buy any type of “HOW TO” guides on the internet, everything you need to know is available online. If you want to pick locks, you are going to need some lockpicks first!  Since there are so many different sorts and types, let’s give a few options: