Help! Is there a trick to removing the headset shim?!

Hey gang,

I've never been much of a bike mechanic, and my tools are pretty antiquated...but I got a new frame and I became impatient!

I was trying to remove my forks but the shim from my headset is biting really tight on to the fork. I can't seem to break anything loose. Are there any tricks to breaking that shim loose? Any advice is appreciated! I think I might just end up dropping the thing off at a shop...arrrrgh! Thanks in advance!

 

It's your basic AHead Set...I don't have a rubber mallet anymore, lost it sometime not long ago (lots of people use my tools when we work on cars at my place!). I will probably just take it to a shop unless I can find something soft to pound it with in the next day or two. Thanks for the help!