Selected Quarterly Financial Data (Details 1) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 03, 2011	Aug. 27, 2011	May 28, 2011	Feb. 26, 2011	Nov. 27, 2010	Aug. 28, 2010	May 29, 2010	Feb. 27, 2010	Dec. 03, 2011	Nov. 27, 2010	Nov. 28, 2009
Schedule of Quartelry Data [Line Items]
Net sales	$ 307,529	$ 284,819	$ 288,533	$ 245,720	$ 275,659	$ 262,770	$ 257,869	$ 215,131	$ 1,126,601	$ 1,011,429	$ 907,748
Gross profit	107,132	95,874	99,462	80,953	92,198	91,561	84,843	69,805	383,421	338,407	279,288
Net earnings	37,400	32,159	32,881	21,921	29,038	28,571	23,935	14,807	124,361	96,351	71,830
Net earnings attributable to CLARCOR Inc.	$ 37,244	$ 32,070	$ 32,808	$ 21,881	$ 29,004	$ 28,326	$ 23,885	$ 14,866	$ 124,003	$ 96,081	$ 71,543
Net earnings per common share attributable to CLARCOR Inc. - Basic	$ 0.74	$ 0.63	$ 0.65	$ 0.43	$ 0.57	$ 0.56	$ 0.47	$ 0.29	$ 2.46	$ 1.90	$ 1.41
Net earnings per common share attributable to CLARCOR Inc. - Diluted	$ 0.73	$ 0.63	$ 0.64	$ 0.43	$ 0.57	$ 0.55	$ 0.47	$ 0.29	$ 2.42	$ 1.88	$ 1.40
Cash dividends paid per common share	$ 0.1200	$ 0.1050	$ 0.1050	$ 0.1050	$ 0.1050	$ 0.0975	$ 0.0975	$ 0.0975	$ 0.4350	$ 0.3975	$ 0.3675