{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.fork","code":"thing-q81881","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q81881/","name":"fork","alternateNames":["snail fork","fish fork","lobster pick","serving fork","pastry fork","sweet fork","fork dessert","carving fork","place fork","toasting fork","Terrapin fork","meat fork"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.1.0-research.1","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.OBJ"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A fork is a rigid handheld cutlery implement whose working head is two or more tines used to pierce, hold and lift food, usually as the companion to a knife (and often a spoon) in a Western place setting.","purpose":"Enable an AI agent to recognise a physical fork, assess whether it is fit for an intended food-handling task, and decide whether to use, clean, repair, isolate or retire it.","scope":{"in":["Fork identity, intended role and boundaries between eating, serving and carving variants","Tine geometry, head shape and handle configuration","Ability to engage, retain and release particular foods","Material, finish and construction relevant to contact, cleaning and handling","Cleanliness, tine damage and fitness for an intended use"],"out":["Food composition, preparation history and dietary suitability","Meals, place settings and dining etiquette","Users' health conditions and general assistance requirements","Cleaning appliances, detergents and sanitation procedures as independent things","Agricultural forks, machinery forks, tuning forks and software forks pending registry clarification"],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["The working head has separated projecting tines whose gaps permit food engagement; a pointed blade without these gaps is not sufficient.","The utensil primarily engages food through its tines rather than containing it in a bowl, distinguishing a conventional fork from a spoon.","Its tines form a common working head operated through one handle, distinguishing it from independently manipulated chopsticks and opposing-jaw tongs.","A substantial scoop combined with tines requires a hybrid classification decision rather than automatic treatment as a conventional fork.","Food-handling intent must be evidenced by design, provenance or documented use; a fork-shaped gardening or machine component does not qualify on silhouette alone."],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"fork-identity-and-role","name":"Fork identity and role","description":"Establishes whether the object belongs to this fork model and what food-handling role it serves.","layers":[{"id":"working-head-identity","name":"Working head identity","description":"Examines the tine arrangement and its relationship to other working surfaces.","findings":[{"id":"tined-food-utensil-boundary","name":"Tined food utensil boundary","description":"Record the observed head configuration and evidence supporting classification as a food-handling fork.","questions":[{"text":"Does the object have separated tines operated through a common handle to engage food?","id":"tined-food-utensil-boundary-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Does a bowl, blade or other working feature make this a hybrid requiring another model?","id":"tined-food-utensil-boundary-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"intended-fork-role","name":"Intended fork role","description":"Distinguishes intended use from a role inferred from appearance.","findings":[{"id":"role-evidence","name":"Role evidence","description":"Record whether eating, serving, carving support or cooking is documented, observed or only inferred.","questions":[{"text":"What markings, product documentation or use history establish the intended role?","id":"role-evidence-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the fork intended to enter the mouth, transfer food between vessels or hold food while another tool cuts?","id":"role-evidence-q02","kind":"definition"}]}]}]},{"id":"tine-food-engagement","name":"Tine and food engagement","description":"Describes how the tine configuration engages, supports and releases food.","layers":[{"id":"penetration-and-spacing","name":"Penetration and spacing","description":"Records the geometry responsible for entering or gathering food.","findings":[{"id":"tine-engagement-profile","name":"Tine engagement profile","description":"Record tine count, dimensions, clear gaps and tip shape without assuming that one configuration suits every food.","questions":[{"text":"What are the tine count, usable length, clear gaps and tip profiles?","id":"tine-engagement-profile-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Can these tines engage the intended food without unacceptable crushing, slipping or fragmentation?","id":"tine-engagement-profile-q02","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"retention-and-release","name":"Retention and release","description":"Assesses support during lifting and controlled separation from the tines.","findings":[{"id":"food-transfer-behaviour","name":"Food transfer behaviour","description":"Record observed retention and release for a specified food, portion and movement.","questions":[{"text":"For the intended portion and lifting orientation, does food stay engaged or fall through or off the tines?","id":"food-transfer-behaviour-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Can the food be released at the destination without excessive force or an unintended scraping action?","id":"food-transfer-behaviour-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"grip-reach-and-contact","name":"Grip, reach and contact","description":"Connects handle and head geometry to the user, mouth, vessel and nearby tools.","layers":[{"id":"handle-control","name":"Handle control","description":"Assesses orientation, grip security and usable reach.","findings":[{"id":"controlled-tine-positioning","name":"Controlled tine positioning","description":"Record whether the intended user can orient and control the working head under the expected handling conditions.","questions":[{"text":"What handle dimensions, head offset and overall length determine grip and reach?","id":"controlled-tine-positioning-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Can the intended user maintain tine orientation with the expected wetness, food resistance and movement?","id":"controlled-tine-positioning-q02","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"mouth-vessel-and-tool-fit","name":"Mouth, vessel and tool fit","description":"Examines the contact boundaries of the intended operation.","findings":[{"id":"task-contact-clearance","name":"Task contact clearance","description":"Record relevant clearances and contact constraints for eating, reaching into vessels or holding food beside a cutting tool.","questions":[{"text":"Does head width, tine length or tip condition restrict the intended mouth or vessel contact?","id":"task-contact-clearance-q01","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"Can the task be performed with adequate clearance from the vessel rim, gripping hand and any cutting tool?","id":"task-contact-clearance-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"food-contact-and-cleaning","name":"Food contact and cleaning","description":"Records material evidence and the cleanliness of the fork's food-contact surfaces and crevices.","layers":[{"id":"contact-material-evidence","name":"Contact material evidence","description":"Identifies exposed materials and supported conditions of use.","findings":[{"id":"material-use-limits","name":"Material use limits","description":"Record materials, coatings and documented restrictions without inferring food-contact suitability from appearance.","questions":[{"text":"What evidence identifies the exposed tine materials, coatings and any handle material that may contact food?","id":"material-use-limits-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What documented limits apply to food contact, temperature and cleaning for this fork?","id":"material-use-limits-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"tine-gap-and-joint-cleanliness","name":"Tine gap and joint cleanliness","description":"Locates residue and uncertainty at difficult-to-inspect features.","findings":[{"id":"cleaning-readiness","name":"Cleaning readiness","description":"Record visible residue, relevant contact history and whether the supported cleaning method can reach affected surfaces.","questions":[{"text":"Is residue present between tines, at tine roots, beneath decorative relief or around handle joints?","id":"cleaning-readiness-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"What supported cleaning action addresses the observed residue and known prior contact before the next use?","id":"cleaning-readiness-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"tine-integrity-and-disposition","name":"Tine integrity and disposition","description":"Connects damage to food handling and decisions about continued use.","layers":[{"id":"damage-and-deformation","name":"Damage and deformation","description":"Distinguishes intended geometry from wear, distortion and breakage.","findings":[{"id":"working-head-integrity","name":"Working head integrity","description":"Record missing or misaligned tines, cracks, rough tips and neck or handle-joint instability.","questions":[{"text":"Which tines or joints show bending, cracking, missing material, burrs or movement relative to the intended configuration?","id":"working-head-integrity-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"What reference or history distinguishes intentional asymmetry from damage?","id":"working-head-integrity-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"continued-use-decision","name":"Continued use decision","description":"Turns observed condition and unresolved evidence into a task-specific disposition.","findings":[{"id":"use-repair-or-retire","name":"Use, repair or retire","description":"Record the permitted next action and the evidence required before a damaged or uncertain fork returns to food handling.","questions":[{"text":"Do the observed tip, tine, surface and joint conditions support the intended next use, or require isolation?","id":"use-repair-or-retire-q01","kind":"action"},{"text":"If repair is proposed, what evidence supports the method and what inspection must establish fitness before reuse?","id":"use-repair-or-retire-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"evidence-and-external-alignment","name":"Evidence and external alignment","description":"What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.","layers":[{"id":"reported-evidence","name":"Reported evidence","description":"Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.","findings":[{"id":"evidence-kinds","name":"Kinds and varieties","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of fork this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-kinds-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-identifiers","name":"Identifiers and schemes","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of fork this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-identifiers-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-standards-and-regulation","name":"Standards and regulation","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of fork this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-standards-and-regulation-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-real-world-use","name":"Real-world use","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of fork this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-real-world-use-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-measurements","name":"Typical measurements","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of fork this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-measurements-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards","name":"Failure modes and hazards","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of fork this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-regional-variation","name":"Regional variation","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of fork this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-regional-variation-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-neighbours","name":"Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of fork this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-neighbours-q01","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Lay, clear and wash forks in a kitchen or dining room it serves.","Remove bent or damaged forks from use."],"mustNot":["Leave forks where small children can poke eyes or sockets.","Put metal forks into microwaves or toasters.","Return unwashed forks to service.","Use a fork that touched an allergen for a guest with that allergy."],"requiresHuman":["Adapting utensils for people with disabilities."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Hygiene of shared utensils protects health.","Eating customs differ, and not everyone uses forks."],"affectedParties":["Diners","Children","Kitchen staff"]},"owners":{"steward":"The person or business that keeps it.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q81944","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.fork","Wikidata: Q81881 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q81881)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Intended food-handling role: eating | serving | carving support | cooking | other | unknown","Tine count: integer count, recording designed and currently present counts separately","Tine geometry: tine length, width, thickness and clear gap in mm; curvature and alignment where measurable","Tip profile: rounded | tapered | pointed | mixed | damaged | unknown","Head and handle dimensions: overall length, head width and handle cross-section in mm; mass in g","Material and finish by component: identified material, coating and finish for tines, neck, handle and joints; unknown where unverified","Structural condition: observed tine alignment, cracks, missing parts, burrs, joint looseness and surface deterioration","Cleanliness evidence: visible residue locations, recorded cleaning, known contact history and unresolved contamination","Task compatibility: fork linked to a specified food, user, vessel and action, with evidence and limitations"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["A handle with a head of two to four pointed tines.","Laid on the left of a plate in Western table settings."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["Select a fork for eating, serving or holding food during cutting using its geometry and condition.","Pierce, gather, lift, transfer or release food within an evidenced task capability.","Inspect tine tips, gaps, roots and handle joints for residue, damage or looseness.","Clean and dry the fork using a method supported for its materials and construction.","Isolate a fork with unresolved contamination, damaged tines or uncertain food-contact suitability.","Assess whether repair is supported and verify the result before returning the fork to use."]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Eye or mouth injuries from tines.","Electric shock or sparking when used in appliances."]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["ISO 8442, Materials and articles in contact with foodstuffs - Cutlery and table holloware, International Organization for Standardization."]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Forks are used at dining tables and in food service to pierce, hold and lift solid food.","They also steady food during cutting and help separate portions that can be handled with their tines."]}},"sources":[{"title":"table fork (Q81881)","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q81881","note":"Canonical item for the eating implement, with cross-links to AAT, HS-ish trade classes and sister items for pitchfork, bicycle fork and tuning fork."},{"title":"Fork","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fork","note":"History of European adoption, place-setting types (dinner, fish, pastry, oyster), and distinction from agricultural and other named forks."},{"title":"ISO 8442-2: Materials and articles in contact with foodstuffs - Cutlery and table holloware - Part 2: Requirements for stainless steel and silver-plated cutlery","url":"https://www.iso.org/standard/21297.html","note":"Performance and food-contact requirements that manufacturers of stainless and silver-plated table forks are actually written to (corrosion, adhesion of plate, strength)."},{"title":"Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food","url":"https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32004R1935","note":"EU legal frame for metal (and plastic) forks as food-contact articles: inertness, traceability, and the 'do not transfer constituents in quantities that endanger health' test."},{"title":"The Evolution of Useful Things","url":"","note":"Henry Petroski (Alfred A. Knopf, 1992) on why the table fork took its four-tine form and how it displaced the knife-as-spear in European dining."}],"openQuestions":["Does vr.tr.fork mean a food utensil specifically, or a broader family that includes agricultural, mechanical or acoustic forks?","Does an existing Vercy world model already own this concept and therefore require a registry link instead of a separate publication?","Which eating, serving, carving and cooking variants belong within this entry, and where should hybrids such as sporks be modelled?","Which authoritative sources establish material-specific food-contact, heat and cleaning limits for the fork variants in scope?","What evidence or acceptance criteria should govern damaged-tine rejection, repair and task-specific suitability without inventing universal thresholds?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q81881/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q81881/spec.json"],"providers":["Codex","Grok"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-07T10:19:43Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:32+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 3 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}