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I was browsing around and found that Amazon is selling the Mercer Culinary Millennia 8 inch Chef's Knife for around $30.
Edit: looks like I bit slow, they've been selling it for a few months now.
The AU site has only 2 units left @ $33
US has plenty, @ $30.03
UK has plenty, @ $30.46
Great if you're already wanting to buy some things from US/UK amazon but don't know what else to make shipping.
From what I have heard, these perform very similarly to the Victorinox Fibrox chef knife, which sells for around $59.
The blade is stamped X30 Cr13 (Victorinox's is X50), its "likely" to be heat treated somewhere between 53 and 54. Sharpens up quite quickly, quite a commonly used knife in professional/catering kitchens.
Ikea 365+ Cooks knife uses X50CrMoV15 and costs $25, but reviewers say it doesn’t perform as the mercer
Specs:
• One-piece high-carbon, stain-free japanese steel offers easy edge maintenance and rapid sharpening for a razor sharp edge
• Ergonomic handle is made from a combination of santoprene® for comfort and polypropylene for durability
• Textured finger points provide slip resistance, grip, and safety
• Protective finger guard for added safety
• Limited lifetime warranty
Mod Update 12/10: Price has increased to $31.14
X30 means 0.3% carbon and X50 means 0.5% carbon. Higher the carbon, higher the hardness which can be achieved but with lower stainless properties. X30 does not seem a very good choice for a knife steel.