So I went to the thrift store and got a Brother typewriter for <$10, it seems to have some missing internals because the ribbon does not move after each word is typed, among other issues.
I looked around, it seems some quality manual portable models with a decent price are the Hermes 3000 and the Olympia SM series. Anything with German or Swiss design and engineering is good enough for me. Something that includes a one key would be great for consistency's sake with a modern keyboard.
It's a bit of a shame that quality typewriters are no longer produced, but the good ones from back in the day were built to last for what seems like forever. Kinda like Model M's and F's.
But great, the last thing I need is another time-consuming, expensive hobby like this one.