Woodhull 4703: The File Cabinet That Opens Like a Drawer
The Woodhull 4703 is the largest briefcase I build, and I think of it as a sculpture that happens to hold files. It measures 18 x 13 x 8 inches, with four 2 inch compartments, and the flap opens on a bar so wide that the whole case behaves like a drawer.
A doctor asked for a file cabinet
The Woodhull started with a visit to my shop. A doctor came up from down south and wanted a briefcase big enough to work like a file cabinet. He saw patients lying on a table, kept his papers beneath it, and his old briefcase would never stay open flat. He also wanted a bag that would last at least ten years.
That last request was easy. I build every briefcase to last that long. The open-flat problem took more thought.
The fix was a pivot. On most of my flap-over briefcases the flap and the back panel are one continuous piece of leather. Open that piece all the way back and you bend thick leather against its top skin, and it creases. The leather survives, but the crease stays. On the Woodhull the flap rides on a bar, so it swings back as far as you like and the leather never folds.
Four compartments, eight inches wide
Each compartment is 2 inches deep, so the case is 8 inches wide in total. In the build video I describe it as two full-size briefcases in one, and then some. The body runs 18 inches across and 13 inches high, against 16 x 12 x 4 for my standard briefcase.
Inside, you get the standard set of pockets and a back newspaper pocket. The shoulder strap is adjustable, with a 20 inch drop and a 1 inch width. The handle is my signature bottom cross stitch handle with a support bar under it, hand saddle stitched like everything else I make.
Red, burgundy and London tan
Most of my bags are one or two colors. This one is built in three, inside and out. The bridle is UK English bridle leather in red, burgundy and London tan, the colors I laid out when I started the build: London tan for the highlights, cherry red and burgundy for the body parts.
The lining mixes Italian calf suede and sheepskin suede. In the build video the lining is red sheepskin and royal blue calf, and when the flap swings open the colors meet you all at once. I use several colors on a case because it makes the bag look traditional and strange at the same time, and I like both of those.
Cobra locks and the weight
The closures are Cobra quick-release locks, the aluminum alloy kind. I push them in and the case is shut; I squeeze and it opens. They are the real Cobra locks, not an imitation, and I use them because they last.
I should be plain about the weight. This is thick UK bridle, four compartments of it, and it is heavy. The shoulder strap and the handle are there, but I built the case to sit by a desk or ride on a trolley, not to be carried through an airport on one shoulder. Carry it to the car, set it beside the desk, open it like a drawer.
The pivot bar is removable. If you want the case to stay open permanently, the bar comes out and the top comes off. Take the flap off and it becomes a file drawer with a handle.
A sculpture first
Clients treat this case as art, and I have stopped arguing with them. In the build update I describe the Woodhull as a sculpture first and a briefcase second. The pivot bar assembly is the hardest part of the build, and it sets the structure of everything else. Get it wrong and the flap will not line up.
The style carries the name of Abraham Woodhull, the Setauket farmer who ran the Culper Ring under the code name Samuel Culper, according to his Wikipedia biography. He carried reports out of occupied New York to be passed to George Washington. A man who kept papers moving in secret seems a fair patron saint for a case built to hold paperwork.
Other colors and the build
The case in the photos is the red, burgundy and London tan version. It can be made in other colors or a single color, and it can be left unlined, which lowers the price. The pivot can also be added to most of my other styles for an upcharge. The 4703 is the updated 2024 version of the style; the original, from 2018, was black UK bridle with a red calf suede lining, a removable flap, double Marcellino latches and three compartments.
The leather, the lining and the stitching
The body is UK English bridle leather, vegetable tanned, waxy, thick and stiff. I use Grade A full grain bridle from the UK or American tanneries depending on availability, and the colors on this case come from the UK. What English Bridle Leather Actually Is, and Why Briefcases Are Cut From It explains how the leather is made and why it suits briefcases.
The suede lining is Italian calf mixed with sheepskin. Sheepskin is lighter than calf and more velvety. I use real suede on purpose: microsuede is polyester, and it neither feels like suede nor ages like it.
Every seam is hand stitched in the saddle stitch. The Saddle Stitch Explained: Hand-Sewing Leather Step by Step goes through the method, and How to Care for a Bridle Leather Briefcase covers care once the case is yours.
