Knife
112 speed (!!!)
44 length
16 pierce
28 cut
.2 weight
upkeep 15 gold
wakizashi
104 speed
70 length
21 pierce
28 cut
1 weight
upkeep 528 gold
4 str requirement (lol)
I have both of these loomed to +3, and almost never touch the wakizashi. The difference between 44 and 70 length doesn't even matter. You have shorter range than anyone else in the server, and you will have to get right in someone's face to hit them. The knife is faster by almost 10 speed (104 is upper end fast 1H swords, 112 speed is insanity). The only reason I use the wakizashi is because you can manually block with it (and therefore nudge without losing all defense), unlike the cheap 0 slot daggers and knives.
The knife has upkeep so low it is basically free. The wakizashi is one of the most expensive 1H in the game. I feel that a price reduction is all the poor thing needs. Then it would be more in-line with the other 0 slot 1H swords like the short broad sword, short nordic war sword, etc.