Your question is complicated because you're asking about personal and professional use.
For personal use -- The steel's more than good enough to take a good edge. They have a few nice design/performance fillips, too. If you like them and can afford them, buy them. Don't drive yourself crazy about the extra few bucks put the money in perspective by considering how long you own a set of knives.
For professional use -- They're not the type of knife most chef's use professionally. Pros tend to split into "as cheap as you can get and still be useable," "value for money," "prestige + performance," and "knife geekery" camps. Oh and there's also the "suits me perfectly" group.
The Ikon line fails any competition where price is a factor; and it's not a geek knife either. Geekiness requires more absolute performance, more idiosyncracy, and more exclusivity.
Is Ikon the perfect line for you as a pro? Dunno.
As a pro:
Do you work the line?
If so, how big is your station?
What are your most frequent knife tasks?
What kind of board do you use? How big?
What kind of knives are you currently using?
Which ones do you use most often?
Do you pinch grip?
If not, how do you hold your most frequently used knives?
Can you use a 10" chef's comfortably, or is something smaller your limit?
If something smaller, do you attribute that to your own size?
Would you prefer a smaller size grip to a normal size grip?
Have you tried a Santoku? Did you like it?
How do you sharpen your knives?
How often?
What kind of steel do you use?
How often do you steel?
How do you store your knives? Bar, block, sheaths (sayas), something else?
Would you consider "mix and match," as opposed to a set of one line from a single manufacturer?
BDL
