An instrument for clamping a surgical clip has a handle assembly, a shaft assembly, and an end effector. The handle assembly has a trigger and an articulation knob. The shaft assembly has an outer ground tube, a middle articulation tube, and a push/pull tube disposed within the middle articulation tube. The trigger is operable to cause longitudinal translation of the push/pull tube. The outer ground tube and the middle articulation tube present mating angled faces sloped in opposing directions. Rotation of the articulation knob causes rotation of the middle articulation tube. Rotation of the middle articulation tube changes the orientation of the angled faces and thus causes articulation of the middle articulation tube and the push/pull tube. The end effector has a pair of jaws configured to apply a surgical clip to a vessel. Longitudinal translation of the push/pull tube causes closure of the pair of jaws.
