I think there's no real need to learn with leaded anymore now that we have temp controlled irons and better fluxes and such.
replyWearing gloves and washing your hands five million times is more annoying than just using lead free.
And even with perfect precautions, the flux expands and makes it spit tiny little balls, which then contaminates your whole work area with a somewhat fine dust.
> Wearing gloves and washing your hands five million times is more annoying than just using lead free.
replyRoHS was more about removing lead from electronics as a whole than health risk to an individual from soldering. To put it into perspective, if you lived in a city before the 1990s, you've already inhaled more lead than you ever will from soldering.
Flux can be hazardous too, even if your solder is lead-free.
replyBut in a non-occupational exposure setting you're not likely to have issues if you solder occasionally even with lead solder and don't take any precautions.