Woodhull 4701: Black Bridle, Four Compartments, Pivot Flap

The Woodhull 4701 is a UK English bridle leather briefcase, 20 x 13 x 7 inches, with four compartments, a flap that swings on an aluminum bar and lifts off, and double Marcellino latches in solid brass.

A file cabinet for a doctor

I developed this style for a doctor who wanted something more like a file cabinet than a briefcase. It was also made for a lawyer to use the same way. A normal flap-over case will not stay open on its own, and a flap bent all the way back creases the leather. Here the flap rides on an aluminum bar, so it opens wide and stays out of the way, and the bar can be removed.

The case measures 20 x 13 x 7 inches. Its four compartments are 1.5, 2, 2 and 1.5 inches deep, and together they span 7 inches.

Double Marcellino latches

The two brass latches across the front are the part of this case I care about most. The Original Marcellino Latch began with attorney clients. They wanted a fine, handmade bridle leather briefcase that looked the part, and they needed a closure they could open and shut quickly all day. Buckles are slow and fiddly. Locks are great, but not every lock lasts. I worked the design out with those clients through strength testing, style variations and their feedback, until it became a simple, strong alternative to the traditional buckle.

It is solid brass, a metal that outlasts the leather around it (more on that in Why Solid Brass Hardware Outlasts the Leather Around It). A loop on the flap keeps the latch from moving when the case is empty, and the loop and chain are removable if you want them gone. All newly made Marcellino latch briefcases come with the loop and chain design, which I found to be the best version of the latch.

The latch also caught the attention of the CNBC show Billion Dollar Buyer, where Tilman Fertitta evaluated it at my workshop and ordered handbags and briefcases with the design. The latch page has videos of how to open and close one and how the mechanism works.

On the 4701 the latches come in a pair, and the case is built to carry heavy paper. In my videos I note that the removable leather latch covers can feel stiff at first and soften within a few months, and a dab of glue holds them in place.

The lock in the center

Between the latches, the black case in my video carries a round Hampton combination clock lock. It is one of the high-end handmade locks I install, made by hand in Italy with solid steel pins, almost like a fine watch. It sets like a clock: instead of remembering three random numbers, you dial a memorable time, such as the minute a child was born. The dials snap sharply at each minute, and I was the first to install this lock on hand-stitched English bridle leather briefcases.

As of late 2026 I no longer build briefcases with the center brass lock, so the lock on this case belongs to the older builds that are still around.

Black bridle leather

The black is UK English bridle leather. Bridle leather is vegetable tanned, traditionally waxy, thick, heavy and stiff, and it takes a while to soften. The UK leather from J E Sedgwick, a tannery founded in 1900 and located in Walsall since 1954, is stiffer and waxier than American bridle, with a greasy top coat that fades as the leather dries and softens. For the longer story of what the leather is and why briefcases are cut from it, see What English Bridle Leather Actually Is, and Why Briefcases Are Cut From It.

The interior of the black case is natural, unlined bridle leather. The back of the hide is finished pasted and matted down, which gives a smooth lining that is durable and easy to clean, and it keeps the weight down. On request this case can also be lined in Italian calf suede.

Navy thread, hand stitched

The photos show navy thread in the stitching, a close-up of it pulled tight beside the brass latch. Every seam on the case is sewn by hand in the saddle stitch. Hand stitching is done in the air, with no plate behind the needle, so I can shape corners and curves a machine cannot. The holes are slightly larger than machine holes because they are punched by hand in thick bridle leather, and the stitch has to be clean on both sides. A hand saddle stitch is the one that holds horse tack together, and it is stronger than a small machine stitch. The journal walks through the method step by step in The Saddle Stitch Explained: Hand-Sewing Leather Step by Step, and explains why one broken stitch does not undo the seam in Why a Broken Stitch Doesn’t Sink a Saddle-Stitched Seam.

Handle, bar and pockets

My signature bottom cross stitch handle carries the case, with a support bar under it. Inside are the standard briefcase pockets, or whatever pockets you ask for in the order notes. The pivot bar is removable. If the flap ever gets damaged, or you simply do not want it, the bar slides out and the flap comes off. I can also add the pivot to most of my other styles for an upcharge.

For looking after black bridle, see my leather care page. Wax blooms on the surface in dry weather and buffs out with a cloth. The journal covers the routine in How to Care for a Bridle Leather Briefcase.