Well sharkoon use the method employed by golfballs (hence their nickname) whereby the little dimples disrupt the airflow over the surface which reduces drag off the trailing edge / half and slows down the air travelling over the surface. If you fancy getting your physics hat on
this sort of explains things, although isn't all that relative to fans lol
The notches on the NF-P12 are different distances from the ends of the blades to increase the range of the pitch of the sound generated. I'm sure if you took your time with a file you could replicate the effect. Would be interesting to see your results.