Financing Arrangements (Details 2) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended									12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended		12 Months Ended			1 Months Ended				1 Months Ended					12 Months Ended						12 Months Ended						1 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Revolving domestic credit facility USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Revolving domestic credit facility USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Revolving domestic credit facility USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Revolving domestic credit facility	May 31, 2013 Revolving domestic credit facility USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2009 Revolving domestic credit facility USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Unsecured domestic line of credit facility USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Unsecured domestic line of credit facility USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Jiaxing line of credit facility USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Jiaxing line of credit facility CNY	Dec. 31, 2013 Jiaxing line of credit facility USD ($)	Jan. 06, 2014 Jiaxing line of credit facility USD ($)	Jan. 06, 2014 Jiaxing line of credit facility CNY	Jul. 31, 2013 Taiwan line of credit facility USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Taiwan line of credit facility USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Taiwan line of credit facility USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2012 Taiwan line of credit facility USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2013 Kellenberger line of credit facility USD ($) item	Jul. 31, 2013 Kellenberger line of credit facility CHF	Dec. 31, 2013 Kellenberger line of credit facility item	Dec. 31, 2012 Kellenberger line of credit facility USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Kellenberger line of credit facility Minimum	Dec. 31, 2013 Kellenberger line of credit facility Bank Two USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Kellenberger line of credit facility Bank Two USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2010 Kellenberger line of credit facility Bank Two USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2010 Kellenberger line of credit facility Bank Two CHF	Oct. 31, 2009 Kellenberger line of credit facility Bank Two USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2009 Kellenberger line of credit facility Bank Two CHF	Dec. 31, 2013 Kellenberger first line of credit facility USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Kellenberger first line of credit facility CHF	Dec. 31, 2013 Kellenberger second line of credit facility USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Kellenberger second line of credit facility CHF	Jul. 31, 2013 Multi-currency revolving working capital facility USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2013 Multi-currency revolving working capital facility CHF	Jul. 31, 2013 Multi-currency revolving working capital facility Holdings Group USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2013 Multi-currency revolving working capital facility Holdings Group CHF
Long-term Debt
Borrowing capacity available for working capital and letter of credit purposes												$ 5.6	34.2		$ 5.6	34.2
Borrowing capacity available for working capital and export business purposes																	12.0			(12.0)
Interest rate (as a percent)				2.44%								6.60%	6.60%				1.54%
Borrowings outstanding under the facility				0	2.5					0	0			0				0	9.0					0		0	0
Aggregate amount of mortgage notes																					10.2	9.2
Number of buildings owned by Kellenberger																					2	2
Number of credit facilities																							2
Borrowing capacity before amendment																														7.8	7.0
Borrowing capacity	58.0			2.5		25.0		25.0	10.0		3.0																	9.8	9.0			8.2	7.5			20.2	18.0
Maximum term of credit facility																																12 months	12 months
Borrowing capacity available for working capital need												3.3	20.0															5.5	5.0	3.4	3.0			6.6	6.0			9.0	8.0
Period for which interest rate is considered																										90 days
Collateral amount																												4.4	4.0
Reference rate before modification							one-month LIBOR
Reference rate					one-month LIBOR	one-month LIBOR				prime rate				basic interest rate												LIBOR												EURIBOR	EURIBOR
Basis spread added to bank's base rate before modification (as a percent)							5.00%
Basis spread added to bank's base rate (as a percent)					2.75%	3.50%								10.00%												2.50%												2.25%	2.25%
Equity covenant requirement as percentage of total assets																									35.00%
Percentage of investments in Hardinge Holdings GmbH pledged				65.00%
Debt instrument floor interest rate (as a percent)										5.00%
Debt instrument cap interest rate (as a percent)										16.00%
Letter of credit for potential liabilities pertaining to self-insured workers compensation exposure.	0.9	1.0
Total outstanding letter of credit	9.9	15.6
Deferred financing costs	0.7
Interest paid	$ 1.0	$ 0.9	$ 0.4