I would. Any of the compression washers that take the place of a star nut that I have seen shouldn't damage a steel steerer if driven up with a dowel. Most likely it's just a bit of corrosion making it stick, and is easily broken loose with a tap. If it were a star nut designed to be driven only one direction, yes...it could cause some damage, but it's still more likely to be destroyed than to damage a steel steerer.

BTW, I didn't mean to mock your terminology, just meant to clarify so we'd be talking the same language.

I am sorry about the troubles. Had you posted about the self-extractor, I could've warned you that they also often seize and do not allow for crank removal without being removed and a standard crank extraction tool used. They're much like titanium crank bolts in that it's best to torque with a steel bolt, then install the ti bolt.