I doubt 1144 and 416 would be even close on color match. And drilling hard stainless is nasty. I wouldn't worry about dissimilar corrosion either, as it's not sub-sea equipment.
Stressproof, along with all the other leaded/freemachining steels will rust if you look at them wrong. Even 4140 can want to flash rust worse than plain old cold rolled mild. Something to think about on your handles.
My choice would be 4340 or 8640 in the QT state. Excellent strength, machinability, along with slightly better corrosion resistance from the alloyed chrome & nickel. Easy to make shine like a diamond in a goat's ass with negative rake carbide at 350-400 fpm and good chip.
I should have elaborated - 1144 and 416 are about equal in strength... no so much corrosion resistance...
My thought was just thread the ends and put a nut/acorn nut/steel ball end on and call it good. Sheesh the prices on 4340 (can't seem to find 8640 easily) that's over 3x the $$ I have into both vises for a 3' long bar... ($150 plus shipping) the 1144 just seems to be easier to obtain compared to other alloys.