seeker (and others)--arm chair spectator here ----along with fork length, wouldnt also the shape at the bottom of the fork change things also, ie the wheelbase and angles?
I'm thinking a straight fork vs one with a forward curve at the end, wouldnt both have the same technical " length" , but behave diff because of where the front wheel axle will be?
Fork length and fork offset (rake) are considered driving dimensions. The designer determines both dimensions and the builder builds to those dimensions. It doesn't matter if the fork blades are curved or straight so long as they produce the right length and offset. However if two forks have the same length but different offsets, then yes, they will make the steering feel differently. That steering behavior is measured as
trail and
wheel flop factor. There's plenty of info on the Web about those topics.