I've compressed with `xz -9' instead of bz2, and now the file is only 2.2MByte large, see attachment :-)

If I load the attached SFD font file in FontForge, generate a 100-pixel bitmap version with FontForge's "use FreeType" option selected, and save it as a BDF file, the BDF file (attached) is corrupted, with many glyphs blank or containing ugly artifacts.  The problem does not occur if I don't use FontForge's "use FreeType" option when doing the rasterization, or if I compile FontForge without FreeType.  Observed with versions 2.3.9 and 2.4.8 of FreeType.  It happens identically (not just corruption on both but the SAME corruption on both) on an x86-32 and an x86-64 system.

On the FontForge mailing list, Werner Lemberg told me that FreeType has a limitation preventing it from loading a BDF file in which the "ENCODING" field of any glyph is greater than 65535.  That appears to be relevant to this font, which does contain such glyphs.  He asked me to file a bug here, with a copy of the font, to act as a reminder that the limit should be removed.

However, that's not the whole story.  FontForge actually uses its own code, never FreeType, to read and write BDF files anyway!  That would explain why I have been able to correctly load and save other fonts that also contain characters with code points greater than 65535 notwithstanding the FreeType limit.  There appears to be something wrong with rasterization, not only BDF support; and although that may be best taken up with the FontForge maintainers (as I am doing), it happens when and only when I tell FontForge to use FreeType for rasterization, so it likely does have something to do with FreeType.