The fibrox is fine, but a single 8" Shun chef's knife is near the price of an MBK-85 for a not-dissimilar level of performance. I have a Fibrox santoku, Shun 7

The fibrox is fine, but a single 8" Shun chef's knife is near the price of an MBK-85 for a not-dissimilar level of performance. I have a Fibrox santoku, Shun 7" Chef's knife (VG-10), Ohishi 270mm (VG-5), and some of the Ikea 365 knives (e.g. 6" chef's knife), as well as some K-Sabatier. For the money, the Ikea 365 knives outperform the Fibrox - they hold the edge much better. The K-Sabatier are better than the fibrox for not too much more money (and they're pretty classic). The Ohishi was the best value and is my favorite knife but it's a bit on the large side. I also have a few other random knives (arcos ham knife, dexter russel boning knife, mac bread knife) I recommend the Ikea ones to most people. They are super cheap, sharp, and hold their edge pretty good. If they wanted an upgrade pick, I'd recommend an Ohishi or similar (there's a few similar ones online that are high quality), but I don't think buying a Shun isn't a terrible proposition - they are readily available in most markets and good quality. Buying a knife block isn't recommended though. Relatedly - I usually buy family members getting married decent set for a gift too - and the smaller sets of Victorinox are usually nice.