By going through the thread a little, some people claim that even the vertical packaging may contain some of the newer blades, because the change in the blades probably occurred before the change in the packaging. I don't know, I have a vertical packaging that came along with a razor and they are horrible.Very interesting. So, the sharpness and smoothness rose dramatically, but the longevity and consistency dropped slightly. I guess I'll have to buy some of the newer (horizontal label) blades and compare them.
Thanks for the link, @P1C0!
The factory that makes Derby also makes a blade called Lamix Platinum Plus Pro, the latter feels like Derby but without cutting me to pieces.