i have an old case hunting knife with a stacked leather washer handle made from their trusharp steel. i got it from an uncle, used but never sharpened. i guess he probably had (and used it) for about 5 or 6 years minimum. coincidentally, he gave it to me because he found that his kershaw leek folding knife was better for dressing deer.
i don't really like hollow grinds, and i couldn't get the bevel sharp anyways...so i took it to the belt sander and made it into a convex scandi grind. now i have no problems getting it sharp (removal of fatigued steel?) and it cuts very well. it sharpens easily, and stays sharp well for alot of tasks. i use it for one of my two bushcrafty knifes (the other is my trusty mora #1).
i don't have a problem with 420HC...it works just fine for me. i can get almost any thing sharp (i got a piece of aluminum to barely shave once)...its really all in the edge retention. i haven't yet found a steel that has edge retention that meets my expectations, so i just deal with touching up knives after every outing (sometimes during an outing)
