How do you remove plaster from brick?

I have a very old house that has the remnants of plaster on the basement walls. Any suggestions on how to remove it without damaging the 210 year old bricks? Would you use a muratic acid solution once the sand base is is removed to clean up the bricks?

We have a house built in 1855,brick w/ lots of varying depths of horsehair/sand plaster all through it. We wanted to see some of the brick wall in the kitchen and decided to remove the plaster on one wall. I used a hammer (gently) to break most of the plaster off and then used a sharpened putty knife to get under the rest and popped it off in chunks. It took a long time and was one hell of a mess, but it was worth it ! I then used a heavy wire brush to clean up the brick washed it down and then sealed it w/ a water based flat varnish. It protects the brick,lets it breath and kept the rustic color and texture that we loved ! It's held up for ten yrs and looks like I just did it !

a cheap hatchet just smack the plaster parallel to the brick away from the body tree stump's are great surfers for this..no acid sand blast

Removing fully cured plaster from bricks would surely damage the bricks. Using muriatic area won't help specially if you use concrete plaster and it will just damage your brick. No solution to your problem. I suggest you just have leave it there and just do a patching repair on the plaster.

Muriatic acid is kind of harsh on that old of a brick I would try some Lime Away and a stiff brush in a inconspicuous spot. Try vinegar too it is slighty acid. No results?Try locating a historical preservation society they night have a way to clean old brick.