The SM205/60 follows on well from the Swan 6142 I wrote about the other day.  Both are wartime pens though this is earlier: 1939/40.  It shares the high military-style clip but in other respects is profoundly different.  The SM205/60 looks back to the hard rubber pens that preceded it, with its flattish ends and engine chasing.  By time the 6142 came along  a new design dynamic prevailed with its very tapered shape.

The SM205/60 lacks the colour of the later pen but it makes up for that with its attractive chasing and the flush-to-the-barrel black hard rubber lever, a style unique to Mabie Todd.

Which of these pens would I prefer?  Probably the SM205/60.  It has everything you would want from a lever fill pen and a bit more.  I appreciate the colour pattern of the 6142 but the increased tapering does nothing for me.  It isn’t an improvement, just a fashionable aesthetic change.