NickE,
Why are you focusing on hardness? If you view this problem from a free body diagram perspective, you need to increase the normal force provided by the grips so that the friction force is larger and can prevent the applied shear force (due to tension in the specimen). Are you concerned that you cannot increase the clamp force on the specimen ends because it will plastically deform the machine's grips? If the grips are much wider than the specimen, then it is unlikely the grips will deform. The surface pressure required to indent a material is 3 times the yield stress, so you should have a large margin. If there are constraints not being considered, please provide them.
Regards,
Cory
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.