I have a slide remover made from mild steel that is narrower and slightly thinner than the thinnest wedge in any of my rifles. My slides are mostly steel, and have a line engraved or filed across their width, so the tool indexes and doesn't slip off into the adjacent wood. Also, I case harden my slides so the steel tool doesn't mark them at all. I keep one of these on my bench, and another in my range box...simply made from a three inch long strip of mild steel. Normally, I don;'t have to drive the wedge all the way across. Once I get it started, they are usually pulled out with fingers alone.
And I slot my wedges and install with a keeper pin so that they do not come completely out of the stock.