Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2016	Nov. 15, 2016
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Oct. 31, 2015
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	BRC
Entity Registrant Name	BRADY CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000746598
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--07-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Class A nonvoting common stock
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		47,347,251
Class B Voting Common Stock
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		3,538,628