Document And Entity Information	6 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Jan. 31, 2013 Common Class A [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Common Class B [Member]
Entity Registrant Name	STARRETT L S CO
Document Type	10-Q
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--06-30
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		6,060,253	739,674
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Central Index Key	0000093676
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2