Consolidated Statement of Income - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 1,149,530,000	$ 1,130,783,000	$ 1,133,885,000
Cost of products sold	625,887,000	629,680,000	618,536,000
Gross profit	523,643,000	501,103,000	515,349,000
Selling, general and administrative
Selling, general and administrative	306,144,000	315,270,000	322,797,000
Research and development	46,847,000	48,630,000	48,247,000
Restructuring charges (Note 2)	5,694,000	12,258,000	8,515,000
Currency exchange losses, net	766,000	2,204,000	1,509,000
Operating income	164,192,000	122,741,000	134,281,000
Interest expense	16,411,000	10,854,000	9,851,000
Other (income) loss, net (Note 15)	(4,130,000)	861,000	(2,765,000)
Total other expense, net	12,281,000	11,715,000	7,086,000
Income from continuing operations before income taxes	151,911,000	111,026,000	127,195,000
Provision for income taxes (Note 9)	57,804,000	44,407,000	41,044,000
Net income (loss), including portion attributable to noncontrolling interest
Income from continuing operations	94,107,000	66,619,000	86,151,000
(Loss) income from discontinued operations (Note 20)	(245,000)	1,325,000	1,776,000
Net income	93,862,000	67,944,000	87,927,000
Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	(1,926,000)	2,863,000	579,000
Net income attributable to MSA Safety Incorporated	91,936,000	70,807,000	88,506,000
Amounts attributable to MSA Safety Incorporated common shareholders:
Net income attributable to MSA Safety Incorporated	92,691,000	69,590,000	87,447,000
(Loss) income from discontinued operations (Note 20)	$ (755,000)	$ 1,217,000	$ 1,059,000
Basic
Income from continuing operations	$ 2.47	$ 1.86	$ 2.34
(Loss) income from discontinued operations (dollars per share)	(0.02)	0.03	0.03
Net income (dollars per share)	2.45	1.89	2.37
Diluted
Income from continuing operations	2.44	1.84	2.30
(Loss) income from discontinued operations (dollars per share)	(0.02)	0.03	0.03
Net income (dollars per share)	$ 2.42	$ 1.87	$ 2.33
Dividends per common share (dollars per share)	$ 1.31	$ 1.27	$ 1.23