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Income Taxes - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $) | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2014 | Dec. 31, 2013 | Dec. 31, 2012
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract] |  |  |
Discontinued operation, tax effect of discontinue operation | $ 600,000 us-gaap_DiscontinuedOperationTaxEffectOfDiscontinuedOperation | $ 1,400,000 us-gaap_DiscontinuedOperationTaxEffectOfDiscontinuedOperation | $ 1,100,000 us-gaap_DiscontinuedOperationTaxEffectOfDiscontinuedOperation
Deferred income tax expense (benefit), discontinued operation | (300,000)msa_DeferredIncomeTaxExpenseBenefitDiscontinuedOperation | 200,000 msa_DeferredIncomeTaxExpenseBenefitDiscontinuedOperation | (400,000)msa_DeferredIncomeTaxExpenseBenefitDiscontinuedOperation
Net operating loss carryforwards | 28,400,000 us-gaap_OperatingLossCarryforwards |  |
Net operating loss carryforward expiring in year two | 1,600,000 msa_NetOperatingLossCarryforwardsExpiringInYearTwo |  |
Net operating loss carryforwards expiration year | 2016 |  |
Deferred income taxes on undistributed earnings | 0 msa_DeferredIncomeTaxesOnUndistributedEarnings |  |
Undistributed earnings of non-U.S. subsidiaries | 334,700,000 us-gaap_UndistributedEarningsOfForeignSubsidiaries |  |
Recognized tax benefits | 5,200,000 msa_RecognizedTaxBenefits | 5,100,000 msa_RecognizedTaxBenefits |
Liability for interest expense and penalties accrued | 800,000 us-gaap_UnrecognizedTaxBenefitsIncomeTaxPenaltiesAndInterestAccrued | 500,000 us-gaap_UnrecognizedTaxBenefitsIncomeTaxPenaltiesAndInterestAccrued |
Reduction to interest related to uncertain tax positions | $ 300,000 msa_UnrecognizedTaxBenefitsAdditionalInterestAndIncomeTaxPenalties |  |

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- Definition Tax effect allocated to a disposal group that is classified as a component of the entity reported as a separate component of income before extraordinary items. Includes the tax effects of the following: income (loss) from operations during the phase-out period, gain (loss) on disposal, provision (or any reversals of earlier provisions) for loss on disposal, and adjustments of a prior period gain (loss) on disposal. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 205 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (b),(c) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6360339&loc=d3e1361-107760 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 10 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6907707&loc=d3e32672-109319 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 20 -Section 45 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=18498875&loc=d3e38679-109324 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 205 -SubTopic 20 -Section 45 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6892542&loc=d3e957-107759 + Details
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