Well. that's certainly a good way of learning depth of field. A slight tilt, like a coin under the far side base will give you a better view of the tines. Take 5 or 6 shots using Aperture priority, and stop the lens down another step for each shot from the same distance. The camera light meter will compute the correct exposure, which will be the same for every image. Only the DOF changes.
I like experiments, this one has a very cool quality despite, or maybe because of, the seeming flaws. Plenty of classic pics defy the usual rules but still work, after all, it is art, not science.
I'm interested, did you explore this further? I might steal your idea as I find what you've created here really intriguing.