Best material choice for sleeve removal tool: Tool Steel, 41XX, 52100, ???

Hi all.
I have been asked by a customer to provide clamping jaws to facilitate the removal of pressed on sleeves.
They are currently using a custom machined, bearing clamp / puller. (see attached pics)
The sleeves have a 0.100 x 0.0216" (radial depth) ring groove on the OD that will register the sleeve vertically, and not let the sleeve move up or down, as the shaft is pressed out.

I believe the force required to remove the shaft is around 2-4K lbs, so not bad.

The clamp will be machined to grab the sleeve in the groove, clamping on 350° of the OD. The clamp halves will meet at the 0.001-0.0015" after the sleeve OD is clamped.

My main question is this:
What is my best choice of material?
Tool Steel: O1, A1, D2, W1
Alloy Steel: 41XX, 52100, 5160, Cr-V?

I want to harden the tools to the Rc45-Rc50, and would love a stable material that will not move around much.
I also do not want the tool to break, bend, nor shear the mating portion of the clamp that interfaces with the radial groove on the sleeve.

Thanks,

Doug.

D2 is fairly stable, 420 stainless also very stable and you could give you that hardness. If you choose alloy, 4340 may be a better option.

Edit: When heat treating 4140 or 4340 I have had a lot better success with starting with prehard. The material does not grow nearly as much like you see when heat treating annealed.

I've used S-7 tool steel heat treated to around 45-50 HRC for puller jaws with good results.

I don't claim it's best, but in my shop I would probably use A2 if stability was the main concern, O1 if cost was a big concern. That's primarily because I can quench and temper A2 in house with confidence. Rc45 should be a very tough tool, without concern for shearing or chipping, and with adequate tool thickness amply strong.

I'd lean toward 4340 too. D-2 is better for things needing some resistance to abrasive type wear.

If there's any post heat treat machining (grinding) D-2 is somewhat non-magnetic and not a lot of fun to grind either. I'd use either A-2, or S-7 and avoid sharp internal corners in the design.