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This morning, while I was reading from the Torah, someone in my shul noticed that the parchment was not cut evenly (in a straight line). I.e., the bottom piece of parchment seemed to have torn away. This did not affect any of the written portion, it was far below it.
Is one allowed to read from such a Torah? Is there a minimum height of parchment that must exist between the top and bottom margins of a column?
The Keset HaSofer in 14:4 writes in the name of the Ta"Z, if you have to choose between border edge size and shrinking the line size "... don't be strict when it comes to the border edge size". Latter in 14:8 writes in general, "all which I wrote in the last 2 Chapters (The size and measurements of a Sefer Torah) is the proper way, but if you deviate it is Kosher."
In the Keset HaSofer version printed in the Sefer Mishnas HaSofer there is an additional comment in the Liskas Hasofer section which discusses a little more at length different opinions of what may be required.
Disclaimer: I'm not a Sofer (and less so a Rabbi)
