Food service establishments have different considerations than you do when it comes to procuring equipment. They will buy "house knives" based on things like NSF certification, product support, pricing, and if there is a relationship between the purchasing agent and distributor.
Let's say that the local food service distributor has a flashy outside salesman. He comes around once a week with a honing rod in his briefcase and swipes their knives on it, and throws in a couple of free stones. All while giving them the knives at below MSRP when they buy 6 or 10 at a time. He could even give it to them at cost because he's selling them all their meat. And if they have any problem what-so-ever, he'll simply give them a replacement.
As a homeowner, you simply don't need an NSF certified anything. You are going to pay MSRP, unless there is a sale or coupon. Nobody is going to pay you a follow up visit, give you a free sharpening, and see how things are going over a cup of coffee. If a rivet pops out, the handles fall off, the tip breaks off, or your girlfriend left it in the oven for an hour while broiling a piece of meat: tough. Nobody cares. You try sending it back to the manufacturer, and try getting an exchange, without an advocate. You'll soon learn that "lifetime warranty" means "lifetime of the product". Once it breaks, the warranty does not exist.
The owner of the restaurant could care less about heft, weight, feel, and balance. But you should. Every knife, no matter how expensive or cheap, feels different in everyone's hand. What works for me, may not work for you. Find a knife which fits your hand.
Think about your lifestyle and the amount of maintenance the knife needs. Are you ready to care for something that cost more than you make in a day? Back when Ming Tsai had a TV show and he was pimping those Kyocera knives, they were almost $200. For some, that was half a week's wages. My ex-girlfriend had to have one. It was great knife. But she just couldn't be bothered with caring for it properly. I ended up with a very expensive broken knife. If a lot of effort is needed in owning and maintaining, are you willing to do the work? Is it high carbon and will rust if you don't oil it?
Look at the build quality. Is it full tang? How many rivets? How big are the rivets? What is the Rockwell hardness of the blade? How well will the blade hold an edge?
There are certainly a lot of options under $100. You can go from as low as $20 for Cold Steel, or even a $12.99 ceramic 6" from Harbor Freight. But the one that I like is
Buck Knives 931, 8" Chef's Knife.
http://www.buckknives.com/product/chef-s-knife/0931FAM01/