Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2022	Mar. 31, 2021
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 330,692	$ 308,428
Cost of products sold	187,908	173,643
Gross profit	142,784	134,785
Selling, general and administrative	78,551	75,463
Research and development	13,333	13,234
Restructuring charges (Note 3)	2,189	1,308
Currency exchange losses (gains), net	3,271	(2,099)
Product liability expense (Note 18)	2,772	2,796
Operating income	42,668	44,083
Interest expense	3,618	1,911
Other income, net	(6,344)	(4,213)
Total other income, net	(2,726)	(2,302)
Income before income taxes	45,394	46,385
Provision for income taxes (Note 10)	9,852	9,749
Net income	35,542	36,636
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	(186)
Net income attributable to MSA Safety Incorporated	$ 35,542	$ 36,450
Earnings per share attributable to MSA Safety Incorporated common shareholders (Note 9):
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.90	$ 0.93
Diluted (in dollars per share)	0.90	0.92
Dividends per common share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.44	$ 0.43