There are a lot of elements that can separate a €50 chef’s knife from a €200 professional chef's knife. Steel quality, handle material, balance and aesthetics are all factors that set the knives in these professional sets apart and justify their relative cost.
"With each use of your knife, the razor-sharp edge naturally bends over just a tiny bit. The edge is still sharp, but the sharpest part isn’t making contact with the food. The answer is honing with the Shun Combination Honing Steel. It gently realigns the edge of the blade, prolonging the knife's sharpness. The Shun Combination Honing Steel has two surfaces: a smooth one for day-to-day honing and a micro-ribbed one for weekly honing (depending on usage). While fine European knives can require honing after each use, Shun's harder steel means you can hone just once a week or so, depending on your level of use. To make honing to the correct 16° Shun angle easier, the Shun Combination Honing Steel has a built-in 16° angle guide on the handle. Before honing, make sure to inspect your knife as shown in the Video below."
