Related Party Transactions (Detail) (USD $)		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		10 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			1 Months Ended
	Aug. 23, 2013	Sep. 30, 2013 SP Corporate Services LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 SP Corporate Services LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 SP Corporate Services LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 SP Corporate Services LLC [Member]	Jul. 31, 2012 SP Corporate Services LLC [Member] Monthly Fees for Financial Management and Administrative Services [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 SP Corporate Services LLC [Member] Monthly Expanded Services [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 WebBank [Member] Short-term Deposits [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Interest Income [Member] WebBank [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Interest Income [Member] WebBank [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Interest Income [Member] WebBank [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Interest Income [Member] WebBank [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Steel Excel [Member] Percentage Owned By Steel Partners [Member]	Oct. 31, 2013 Subsequent Event [Member] iGo, Inc. [Member]
Ownership percentage (as a percent)	44.70%												53.70%
Related Party Transaction, Expenses from Transactions with Related Party		$ 1,000,000	$ 900,000	$ 3,000,000	$ 1,300,000	$ 35,000	$ 300,000
Accounts Payable, Related Parties		200,000		200,000
Management Fees Revenue														400,000
Due from Related Parties, Current								15,100,000
Revenue from Related Parties									$ 21,231	$ 32,271	$ 68,918	$ 57,997