Document And Entity Information - shares	6 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Jan. 31, 2017
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	STARRETT L S CO
Entity Central Index Key	0000093676
Trading Symbol	scx
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--06-30
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Amendment Flag	false
Common Class A [Member]
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		6,293,967
Common Class B [Member]
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		765,837