A ring binder includes a substantially rigid curved upper plate supporting a pair of hinged leaves. A plurality of ring members are secured to the hinged leaves for engaging corresponding holes in sheets of material retained by the ring binder. An actuating lever is located at each end of the curved upper plate for actuating the hinged leaves to open and close the ring members. Each actuating lever includes an aperture for receiving a cushion member therein. The cushion member is engaged by the fingers of a user to pivot the actuating lever in order to move the ring members between the open position and the closed position. The cushion member is a soft pad of resilient material such as rubber or soft plastic. The cushion member provides improved tactile characteristics to the actuating lever, making the actuating lever comfortable to use. The cushion member also minimizes the feedback of undesirable shock forces produced by the snap action of the rings when opening and closing the rings.