Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2022	Jun. 30, 2021	Jun. 30, 2022	Jun. 30, 2021
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 372,313	$ 341,289	$ 703,005	$ 649,717
Cost of products sold	207,913	188,289	395,821	361,934
Gross profit	164,400	153,000	307,184	287,783
Selling, general and administrative	86,076	83,426	164,625	158,889
Research and development	15,268	13,970	28,601	27,204
Restructuring charges (Note 3)	57	7,078	2,247	8,385
Currency exchange (gains) losses, net	(1,463)	1,640	1,809	(459)
Product liability expense (Note 18)	2,926	11,751	5,698	14,547
Operating income	61,536	35,135	104,204	79,217
Interest expense	4,578	2,172	8,196	4,082
Other income, net	(6,419)	(2,293)	(12,762)	(6,506)
Total other income, net	(1,841)	(121)	(4,566)	(2,424)
Income before income taxes	63,377	35,256	108,770	81,641
Provision for income taxes (Note 10)	15,684	9,808	25,535	19,557
Net income	47,693	25,448	83,235	62,084
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	(262)	0	(448)
Net income attributable to MSA Safety Incorporated	$ 47,693	$ 25,186	$ 83,235	$ 61,636
Earnings per share attributable to MSA Safety Incorporated common shareholders (Note 9):
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 1.21	$ 0.64	$ 2.12	$ 1.57
Diluted (in dollars per share)	1.21	0.64	2.11	1.56
Dividends per common share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.46	$ 0.44	$ 0.90	$ 0.87